The Blouberg (formerly "Blaauwberg"), meaning "Blue Mountain" in Dutch, is a range of mountains in the

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

Province, at the far north of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located in

Blouberg Local Municipality Blouberg Municipality () is a Local municipality (South Africa), local municipality within the Capricorn District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa, bordering Botswana. It takes its name from the Blouberg (range), Blouberg (li ...

, Capricorn District. The mountain is entrenched in the history of the local

Northern Sotho Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...

people, and they have different names for its various parts. The Blouberg forms part of the 'Vhembe Biosphere Reserve', named a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

since 2009. This reserve also includes the neighboring Makgabeng Plateau, the

Soutpansberg The Soutpansberg (formerly Zoutpansberg), meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a Mountain range, range of mountains in far northern South Africa. It is located in Vhembe District Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo. It is named for t ...

, the northern part of the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

, the Makuleke Wetlands and the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. The eastern and part of the central Blouberg prominences are enclosed and protected as part of the Blouberg Nature Reserve. A 4x4 track traverses Rapanyan's Neck, the defile that separates these easterly subranges.

Setting

This rocky mountain range rises over a plateau averaging 900 m to the west of the western end of the Soutpansberg range. The Blouberg is topped by massive rocky outcrops resembling castles or fortifications with sheer walls. Its highest point reaches 2,040 m above sea level and is also the highest point of the entire Soutpansberg/Blouberg system. The Brak River (also known as ''Hout River''), a tributary of the Sand River, flows diagonally along the southeastern edge of the Blouberg, separating it from the Soutpansberg further east. Although these two ranges are clearly destinguishable from a geographical point of view,

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

ly the Blouberg forms part of the Soutpansberg.

Human population

About 117 settlements in its foothills are home to some 161,000 inhabitants, belonging to the Bahananwa nation. Senwabarwana, the economic centre of these villages, is visited by many to do their shopping. During the 19th century they were incorporated into the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

, and the

homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

system was introduced during the

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era of the 20th century. Basic infrastructure and developmental needs were neglected, and in the 21st century it remains one of

's most underdeveloped regions. Many villages experience high unemployment rates, severe poverty or low levels of income despite the area's natural resources. Their isolation is mitigated by their sense of community and connectivity to each other.

Ecology

The vegetation of the Blouberg ranges from sub-tropical

veld Veld ( or , Afrikaans language, Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''veld'', field), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide-open, rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrubland, scrub, ...

or savanna at the base, to a type of Afro-montane vegetation related to the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

near the summits. The rocky cliffs are a haven for

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

such as the

Cape vulture The Cape vulture (''Gyps coprotheres''), also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some parts ...

s. The Blouberg, like its larger neighbor further east, the Soutpansberg, is known for a high level of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

of its

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

fauna, such as the Swanepoel's widow butterfly that is found on the southern slopes of the range. The Waterberg flat lizard and a subspecies of the

common flat lizard The common flat lizard (''Platysaurus intermedius'') is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family. This lizard has 9 subspecies, all living in southern Africa. Description The females and juveniles of all subspecies of ''P. intermedius'' have ...

are found in this range.

Rock climbing

The Blouberg is one of the most spectacular

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

areas in South Africa. As a rock climbing destination it is famous for its sheer 350 m "Moonshadow" wall. Most of the climbing spots are on private land but climbers can make arrangements to access them through the Alldays Mountain Club in nearby

Alldays, Limpopo Alldays is a small town in the Limpopo province of South Africa that serves a large area of private game and hunting farms. It has a population of 2,987. The Venetia Diamond Mine is situated close to Alldays, located within the 360 square kilome ...

.New Blouberg RD by Hector Pringle
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References

{{reflist

External links

Major vegetation types of the Soutpansberg Conservancy and the Blouberg Nature Reserve, South Africa
* ttp://www.blouberg.gov.za Blouberg Municipality Websitebr>African Rock Adventure
Mountain ranges of Limpopo