This Huab gneiss was formed more than two billion years ago at a time when only small mainland pedestals existed between the elementary oceans and upon which all of today's continents were built up. The Huab gneiss, as part of one of these ancient continents, thus belongs to the lowest bedrock of the African continent.

A little younger than the gneiss (1.8 billion years) and also occurring in the Huab Nature Reserve area is the granite which penetrated faults in the formations after the gneiss had been created. The river system of the Huab was already being formed along such a fault. So the history of this river which gives the Reserve its name goes back more than 1.500 million years. 

In the course of millions of years the Huab River ate it way through all the rock which was gradually deposited on the gneiss and granite. 

During the middle ages of the earth's development, about 115 million years ago in the so-called Cretaceous period, the whole region was affected by intensive volcanic action. This activity was caused by the breaking apart of the ancient southern land mass Gondwanaland. 

As a result the region was smothered under an enormous blanket of lava which completely leveled the land including the already extant Huab valley. Despite this leveling, the Huab River was able to cut its course through the thick volcanic basalt layer again, mainly because of the original rift which still existed and because of a new widely apparent upward thrust ofthe earth's crust. In the Nature Reserve the river washed the basalt layer away completely, while further west in Damaraland some remains ofthe lava blanket can still be seen.

At the beginning of geologically recent times, during the Cenezoic period about 65 million years ago, the upward thrust which was mentioned earlier eased considerably and diminished the deepening effect of erosion caused by the Huab River.

As a result the river began developing large loops, so-called meanders, and began cutting its way more and more into the mountain slopes of its banks. This process made the wide river valley which you see today. 

About 23 million years ago, during the early Tertiary period a new upward thrust began in the Huab Area and the river cut into its original wide bed once more. This created river bank terraces which can be seen at many locations notably the site of Huab Lodge itself. 

While Europe was in the Ice Ages, Namibia was experiencing a wet tropical climatic period and large masses of water were coming down the Huab River. 

Toward the end of the northern hemisphere's Ice Ages, about 10,000 years ago, the climate in the Huab region became increasingly arid and the river only flowed sporadically during the rainy seasons, much as it does today. 

Without water to carry away the scree eroding off the mountainous banks of the river, it began to block up or in geological terms to "braid". This caused gravel and pebble islands to build up in the river bed, such as can be seen to today. 

This continuing process, together with many other great geological events too numerous to list here, has created the more than impressive landscape of the Huab Nature Reserve in which the explorer can discover and experience the geological history of more than two billion years.