Drakensberg

Drakensberg (Maluti)
uKhahlamba
Mountain Range
Name origin: Dragon's mountain
Countries	South Africa, Lesotho
Landmark	Tugela Falls
Rivers	Tugela River, Orange River, Vaal River, Caledon River
Highest point	Thabana Ntlenyana
- elevation	3,482 meters (11,424 feet)
Lowest point
- elevation	1,294 meters (4,245 feet)
Length	1,000 km (621 miles), SW to NE
Geology	Basalt, Sandstone
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name	uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park
Year	2000 (#24)
Number	985
Region	Africa
Criteria	i, iii, vii, x
IUCN category	II - National Park

The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: "Dragon's Mountain") mountains are the highest in Southern Africa, rising at Thabana Ntlenyana to 11,422 feet (3,482 m). In Zulu, they are referred to as uKhahlamba ("barrier of spears"), and in Sesotho as Maluti (also spelled Maloti ). Due to their geological formation they are exceptionally distinctive, and almost unique among mountain ranges. Only the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia resemble the Drakensberg.

Geography

They are located in the eastern part of South Africa, running for some 600 miles (1,000 km) generally southwest to northeast, with a northwesterly bend forming the northeastern border of Lesotho with South Africa. They are drained on the west by the Orange and Vaal rivers, and on the east and south by a number of smaller rivers, the Tugela being the largest. The range thus separates KwaZulu-Natal Province from Free State Province, looming over the nearby coast of Natal.

File:The Rockeries.JPG

The Rockeries, Mnweni, Northern Drakensberg.

The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana, also the highest peak of Lesotho. Other notable peaks include Mafadi at 3,450 m, Makoaneng at 3,416 m, Njesuthi at 3,408 m, Champagne Castle at 3,377 m, Giant's Castle at 3,315 m, and Ben Macdhui at 3,001 m. All of these are in the area bordering on Lesotho; north of Lesotho the range gradually becomes lower and less rugged until entering Mpumalanga, where the quartzite mountains of the Transvaal Drakensberg are more broken. The Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga is technically within the northern reaches of the Drakensberg, though its geology appears quite different due to the lack of a basalt cap.

The Royal Natal National Park is located in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa and forms part of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, a World Heritage Site. Notwithstanding the name, it is actually not a South African National Park managed by the SANParks, but rather a Provincial Park managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Tugela Falls is located within the park.

Geology

Drakensberg range from space showing brown basalt and pale sandstone layers.

Geologically, the Drakensberg is a remnant of the original African plateau. The mountains are capped by a layer of basalt up to 1,500 m thick, with sandstone lower down, resulting in a combination of steep-sided blocks and pinnacles. The sandstone layer was deposited as the remnants of a gigantic lake that occupied much of what is now Southern Africa ca 500 million years ago, whereas the basaltic layer was deposited ca 220 million years ago in what many geologists think was the largest volcanic eruption in the history of the world (linked with the splitting of the tectonic plates of Africa and South America).

Subsequently, water and wind erosion (principally from the east, facing the Indian Ocean) cut into the enormous plateau, producing an extraordinary and almost unique landcape. The Drakensberg is one of only two mountain ranges (along with the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia) to have been formed in this geological way, which accounts for its extraordinarily distinctive formations and colors. The landscape is dominated by extremely steep cliffs, some of them among the most impressive cliff faces on earth, incised buttresses, and soaring ramparts.

Climate

Snow falls regularly in the winter, while rain and mist can occur year-round. In summer the valleys of the mountains often see temperatures in the 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit range (mid to high 30 degrees Celsius), while in winter temperatures on top of the mountains may plunge to -4 degrees Fahrenheit (below -20 Celsius). Snow is known even in summer, and Cathedral Peak Hotel, one of the most popular resorts in the Drakensberg, has known a white Christmas.

Flora and fauna

Because of the different climate zones, great differences in altitude and a copious supply of water, one finds in the Royal Natal National Park an extreme diversity of plants. So far, more than 2,000 species were registered, most of them blossom-bearing. There are 72 species of ferns alone, among them the huge fern trees typical for the Drakensberg.

History

Caves are frequent in the more easily eroded sandstone, and many have rock paintings by the Bushmen. The Drakensberg has, collectively, at least 40,000 works of Bushman art and as such is the largest collection of such work in the world. Due to the materials used in their production, these paintings are difficult to date, but there is anthropological evidence, including many hunting implements, that the Bushman civilization existed in the Drakensberg at least 40,000 years ago and possibly over 100,000 years ago.

The Bushman population was decimated in various wars from the seventeenth century, mostly between them and other African tribes invading the fertile area. Ultimately they were completely annihilated by Europeans in the nineteenth century, due principally to confusions over claims to land and hunting animals. Being hunter-gatherers, the Bushman did not believe in ownership of livestock but did believe strongly in hunting grounds (the opposite of the view held by Europeans). Thus the Bushman would hunt European livestock, and the Europeans would infringe on hunting grounds, neither with a concept that they were transgressing a rule of the other. Both sides responded, with Bushmen raiding the Europeans and Europeans attacking the Bushmen. The superior technology of the European guns and weapons spelled certain disaster for the Bushman, and the last one was seen in the late nineteenth century. There are still Bushmen tribes dwelling in the Kalahari and Namib deserts, but the culture of mountain Bushmen no longer exists.

Activities

Tugela Falls

In the southern Drakensberg there is a ski resort called Tiffindell that is open from late May to early September. Tiffindell may receive as much as 2.5 meters of snow during good skiing years.

Many of the Drakensberg peaks offer challenging mountaineering. While the major summits have all been conquered, a number of minor pinnacles have yet to be ascended. Hiking is also a popular activity.

Tourism in the Drakensberg is developing, with a variety of hotels and resorts appearing on the slopes. Most of the higher South African parts of the range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas. The uKhahlamba or Drakensberg National Park, located in KwaZulu-Natal, near the border with Lesotho, was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage Site. The park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention). But it is the Central Drakensberg that offers tourists the best access to Bushman rock art and the largest range of hiking trails.

The best-known national park in the Drakensberg is Royal Natal National Park, where the Amphitheater can be seen. It contains the source of the Tugela River and includes Tugela Falls, the second highest waterfall on earth. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is 3,110 feet (947 m). They are easily viewed after a heavy rain from the main travel road into the park, glistening from the reflection of the late afternoon sun. The source of the Tugela River (Zulu for 'sudden') is at Mont-Aux-Sources several kilometers from the escarpment from which the falls drop.

Panorama of the Giant's Castle region

External links

• Royal Natal at KZN Wildlife
• uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park at UNESCO World heritage
• Royal Natal National Park
• South Africa Nature Reserves
• SouthAfrica-travel.net

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