moçâmedes is a coastal town in angola. between 1985 and 2016, the town was called namibe. it is the capital of namibe province. it was formed in 1840 by the portuguese rulers of the territory. there were 132,900 people in 2004. moçâmedes has a cool dry climate. there are desert plants because it is close to the namib desert. along with luanda and lobito it is one of angola's three major ports. the namibe airport is in moçâmedes.