Langjan Nature Reserve, is situated in
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,
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 ...
, on the R521 to
Alldays, west of
Makhado
Makhado (also: Makhato or Makgato, c.1839 – 3 September 1895) was a 19th-century King (Thovhele) in the Singo (or Vhasenzi) dynasty of the Vendas. They ruled over the Dzanani "district" of the Zoutpansberg region of South Africa. He was the yo ...
, close to the
Blouberg Nature Reserve
This reserve was established in 1954 to preserve the last autochthonous population of
Oryx gazella
The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Namib D ...
.
It is located between 22° 47'S and 22° 52'S and 29° 11'E and 29° 17'E and straddles the
Brak River
The Brak River () is a river located in northern Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is a tributary of the Polokwane River.
Course
The Brak River starts on the east of the Makgabeng Plateau and flows north-northeast until reaching the Blouberg ...
running approximately from south to north. The altitude is around above sea level and is situated on
conglomerate,
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
and deep red Kalahari sand.
The vegetation is referred to as "arid sweet
Bushveld
The Bushveld (from Afrikaans: ''bosveld'', Afrikaans: ''bos'' 'bush' and ) is a Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. The ecoregion straddles the Tropic of Capricorn ...
"
Endemic species
Some of the important fauna found in the reserve include:
*
Oryx gazella
The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Namib D ...
- gemsbok
*
Psammobates oculifer
The serrated tortoise (''Psammobates oculifer'') is a species of tortoise that occurs in the Kalahari Desert regions of southern Africa. Also known as the Kalahari tent tortoise, it is one of three members of the genus, ''Psammobates''.
Name
T ...
- serrated tortoise,
* Typhlosaurus lineatus subtaeniatus - Striped blind legless skink,
*
Scelotes limpopoensis albiventris - Limpopo burrowing skink,
* Colopus wahlbergii wahlbergii - Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko
See also
*
Protected areas of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private lando ...
References
Nature reserves in South Africa
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