The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, Rivombo Mountains (), are an , narrow
range of mountains in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. They stretch from
Hluhluwe in
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
in the south to Punda Maria in the
Limpopo Province in
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 ...
in the north. Parts of the mountain range are also found in
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
and
Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
.
Description
Geologically, the range is considered a
monocline; part of a rifted volcanic margin. The Lebombo monocline was aligned with the
Explora Escarpment off-shore
Dronning Maud Land,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
, before the break-up of
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
. The Lebombo monocline
strikes N-S and dips to the east. It is composed of a sequence of
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
age
volcanic rock
Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...
, both
basaltic
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
s and
rhyolitic flows and
tuffs. The sequence rests on essentially horizontal
Karoo Supergroup sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
s of the
Kalahari Craton to the west and is overlain by
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
to recent sediments to the east. The alternating resistant rhyolite and easily eroded basalts produce a series of parallel sharp
cuesta ridges separated by savanna plains.
The range is relatively low with heights between and less than . The highest peak is the
Mount Mananga. The Longwe is the highest point in the Lebombo Range north of the
Letaba River.
Echo System
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The mountains dominate Lubombo District in Eswatini. Towns in the area include Siteki in the centre, Lubhuku in the west and Mayaluka and Big Bend in the south with the Lusutfu River running past the southern region of the mountain range. At the north lie the towns of Simunye, Tambankulu and Namaacha, and the Mlawula Nature Reserve as well as the Mbuluzi River.
A number of rivers, including the Pongola, Mkuze, and Lusutfu, cross the mountains from west to east. The Lebombo Mountains are home to the Thonga people who are part of the Tsonga ethnic group, it straddles from North KwaZulu-Natal (Amathongaland) to Kruger National Park in Limpopo Province with the same name origin of the Lebombo/Rivombo clan.
Protected areas
Kruger National Park and Phongolo Nature Reserve protect part of the range.
See also
* Explora Escarpment – an escarpment off the coast of Antarctica which was aligned with the mountains before the breakup of Gondwana
* Lebombo bone
References
External links
Preliminary overview of mountains in South Africa
Mountain ranges of South Africa
Mountain ranges of Mozambique
Mountains of Eswatini
Lubombo Region
Mozambique–South Africa border
Eswatini–Mozambique border
Landforms of KwaZulu-Natal
Mountain ranges of Limpopo
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