Amatola, Amatole or Amathole are a range of densely forested mountains, situated in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

province 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 ...

. The word ''Amathole'' means ‘calves’ in

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

, and

Amathole District Municipality The Amathole District Municipality () is one of the 7 districts of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat is East London. As of 2011, over 90% of its 892,637 inhabitants spoke isiXhosa. The district code is DC12. ''Amathole'' means ...

, which lies to the south, is named after these mountains.

Geology

The Amathole Mountains form part of the southern portion of the Great Escarpment, rising over 1,800 metres above sea level. The escarpment slopes are densely covered in ancient forests of yellowwoods, white stinkwoods, Cape chestnuts and other indigenous trees. Deep indigenous woods like Kologha and Kubusie are some of the largest swaths of forest in

. The mountains are capped with flower-rich montane grassland.

Albany thickets The Albany thickets is an ecoregion of dense woodland in southern South Africa, which is concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape (whence the region's name originates). Geography The thickets grow on well-drained sandy soils i ...

also feature prominently in the surrounding area. The mountains are known for their scenery, forests, ravines, waterfalls and panoramic views. The six-day Amatola hiking trail is one of the top hiking trails in South Africa. The Amatola Mountains’

geology 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 ...

is characterised by the Beaufort Group (subdivided into the Tarkastad and Adelaide subgroups), which forms part of the Karoo sequence. The sediments were formed by depositions in river channels, floodplains and swamps.

History and settlement

These mountains were originally home to the

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

hunter gatherers. The Nguni migrations saw the arrival of the Xhosa herders from the north and the displacement of the Khoisan inhabitants during the mid- to late 17th century CE. Many of the current settlements in the Amathole region started as military outposts, for example

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort ( Xhosa: iBhofolo), officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023, is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a mun ...

. This is because, in the 19th century, this region formed the border between the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, and the

nation to the east. Frequent wars were fought along this border, particularly the 7th Frontier War (Also known as the Amatola War or the 'War of the Axe'). These wars were usually fought over farming land, cattle theft and legal jurisdiction and they saw the steady movement of the Cape's border eastward, into Xhosa lands. It was into the Amatola mountains’ forested ravines that the Xhosa armies retreated after the setbacks of these wars, so the Cape built the military towns in an effort to secure these borderlands for its farmers.

Towns

250px, Tyhume valley and the view to the Hogsback pass in the mountains. *

King William's Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London, South Africa, ...

is the old centre of the region. In this city there is a large museum, the Amathole Museum, with old collections. *At the foot of the mountains, in the town of

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, is the campus of the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

. * Stutterheim, beneath the Kologha range to the east, initially served as a settlement for disbanded soldiers who had fought in the 'Amatola War'. * Hogsback's first residents were farmers. This town is a popular holiday destination that is reputed to have inspired

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's Middle Earth. *The nearby town of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

is the largest in the region and is South Africa's only river port. The city is out of the mountains and the main administration centre for the Amathole region.

References

External links

Amatola Mountains, Katberg and Hogsback, Eastern Cape
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021194836/http://www.footprint.co.za/amatola.htm , date=2019-10-21 Mountain ranges of the Eastern Cape

Geology

History and settlement

Towns

See also

References

External links