Detailed geomorphological and chronological investigations of the NW-Namibian Amspoort Silt formation show that the sediments are typical river-end deposits. This type of endoreic sediment, occuring only in desert margin areas, provides valuable information about the palaeo-environment. In the Hoanib valley, the fine-grained deposits have buried riverine trees. Radiocarbon dating of the wood and luminescence dating of the sediments allow a detailed reconstruction of the aggradation processes. Accumulation started ~10 km downstream of Amspoort around the beginning of the 15th century and ended in the 19th century, some kilometres upstream of Amspoort. This upstream shift of sedimentation during the Little Ice Age was caused by gradually decreasing runoff resulting from aridification of the upper part of the Hoanib river catchment lying east of the Namib desert margin >= 1.200 m a.s.l. Keywords: Namibia, Amspoort Silts, River-end deposits, Little Ice Age, Luminescence dating, Radiocarbon dating.