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The Langeberg Range is a
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
in the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...
province of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. Its highest peak is Keeromsberg at 2,075 m that lies 15 km northeast of the town of
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. Some of the highest peaks of the range are located just to the north of
Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them ...
, in a subrange known as the Clock Peaks whose highest point is the 1,710 m high
Misty Point Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
. Local lore states one can tell the time by means of the shadows cast by the seven summits of the Clock Peaks.


Etymology

The name is Dutch and means "long mountain"


Physiography and geology

The range runs roughly NW/SE in its western part and in an east-west direction in its mid and eastern section and is approximately 250 km long, from Worcester, past Robertson, Montagu, Swellendam, Heidelberg and Riversdale to the proximity of George. The Langeberg's most westerly point is located 5 km east of the town of
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
; the range ends some 20 km North of
Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...
in the east. The open plains of the
Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...
border the north of the mountain range, while to the south lies the Agulhas Plain and the
Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
belt. The Langeberg Range is composed mostly of Table Mountain Sandstone and the range is part of the
Cape Fold Belt The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with the Ventana Mount ...
.


Ecology

On the southern slopes of the range mountain
fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...
can be found, with
Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of ...
forest patches found in deep secluded gorges, while on the drier northern slopes karroid scrub is found.Swellendam Hiking Guide
/ref>


Protected areas

There are the following
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s along the range: *The
Marloth Nature Reserve Marloth Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Swellendam Local Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. It conserves the central Langeberg mountains, between the towns of Swellendam, Ashton, Barrydale and Suurbraak. The reserve includes the ...
, in the area where the highest peaks are found *The
Boosmansbos Wilderness Area The Boosmansbos Wilderness Area of is situated north of Heidelberg in the eastern Langeberg mountain chain of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. ''Boosmansbos'', i.e. 'angry man's forest', is named after a resident hermit of the early 19 ...
, which includes the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve near
Barrydale Barrydale is a village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It was named after Joseph Barry, a well known merchant of the 19th century. It is situated at the northern end of th ...
*The Garcia State Forest


Mountain passes

The range is traversed by four mountain passes, from west to east, they are: * Cogmanskloof Pass, linking Montagu with Ashton. * Tradouws Pass, linking
Barrydale Barrydale is a village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It was named after Joseph Barry, a well known merchant of the 19th century. It is situated at the northern end of th ...
with
Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them ...
and
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
* Garcia's Pass, linking Riversdale and Ladismith, Western Cape * Cloetes Pass, linking
Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...
with Ladismith, Western Cape


See also

*
Geography of South Africa South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its coastline stretching more than from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on ...
* List of mountain ranges of South Africa *
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...


References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of the Western Cape