The Drakensberg ( Zulu: uKhahlamba,

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana *Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an offi ...

: Maloti,

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the

Great Escarpment The Great Escarpment is a major topographical feature in Africa that consists of steep slopes from the high central Southern African plateauAtlas of Southern Africa. (1984). p. 13. Reader's Digest Association, Cape Town downward in the directio ...

, which encloses the central

Southern African Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the physical geography definition b ...

plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within the border region 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 ...

and

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

The Drakensberg escarpment stretches for more than from the

Eastern Cape Province 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 ...

in the South, then successively forms, in order from south to north, the border between

and 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 ...

and the border between Lesotho and

KwaZulu-Natal Province 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 ...

. Thereafter it forms the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, and next as the border between KwaZulu-Natal and

Mpumalanga Province Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

. The escarpment winds north from there, through Mpumalanga, where it includes features such as the

Blyde River Canyon The Blyde River Canyon is a 26 km long canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the third-largest canyon on earth, behind the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon, the Blyde River Canyon is ...

Three Rondavels Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohr ...

, and

God's Window Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohr ...

. It then extends farther north to

Hoedspruit Hoedspruit (Afrikaans for ''Hat Creek'') is a town situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Small Dragon Mountains" range), in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on the railway line from Tzaneen to Kaapmuiden. History ...

in southeastern Limpopo where it is known as 'Klein Drakensberg' by the

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

. From Hoedspruit it extends west to

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a town situated in the Mopani district of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region. It is Limpopo's second largest to ...

, also in

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost 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 group of Tsonga settlers ...

, where it is known as the

Wolkberg The Wolkberg is a mountain range in Tzaneen, Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is a northern termination and a subrange of the Drakensberg mountain range which lines up from Eastern Cape, Lesotho, Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga. At 2200 m ( ...

Mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

and Iron Crown Mountain. At above sea level, the Wolkberg is the highest elevation in Limpopo. The escarpment extends west again and at

Mokopane Mokopane, formerly known as Potgietersrus, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town name was changed to Mokopane in 2003 in honour of a local Ma Nrebele leader, King Mghombane Gheghana, who ruled the area before being conquer ...

it is known as the Strydpoort Mountains.

Etymology

The

name ''Drakensberge'' comes from the name the earliest

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

settlers gave to the escarpment, namely ''Drakensbergen'', or ''Dragons' Mountains''. The highest portion of the Great Escarpment is known in Zulu as ''uKhahlamba'' and as ''Maloti'' in

("Barrier of up-pointed spears").

Geology

Origins

The Great Escarpment is composed of steep

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

walls formed around a bulging of continental crust during the breakup of southern

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 ...

that have since eroded inland from their original positions near the southern African coast, and its entire eastern portion (see the accompanying map) constitutes the Drakensberg. The Drakensberg terminate in the north near Tzaneen at about the 22° S parallel. The absence of the Great Escarpment for approximately to the north of Tzaneen (to reappear on the border between

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

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 ...

in the

Chimanimani Mountains The Chimanimani Mountains are a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The mountains are in the southern portion of the Eastern Highlands, or Manica Highlands, a belt of highlands that extend north and south along the internatio ...

) is due to a failed westerly branch of the main rift that caused

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. ...

to start drifting away from southern Africa during the breakup of Gondwana about 150 million years ago. The lower

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

and Save River drain into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

through what remains of this relict incipient rift valley, which now forms part of the South African

Lowveld Veld ( or , Afrikaans and 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 scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, ...

. During the past 20 million years, southern Africa has experienced massive uplifting, especially in the east, with the result that most of the plateau lies above despite extensive erosion. The plateau is tilted such that it is highest in the east and slopes gently downward toward the west and south. Typically, the elevation of the edge of the eastern escarpments is in excess of . It reaches its highest point of over where the escarpment forms part of the international border between

and the South African province of

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 ...

Appearance

SW-NE geological cross section through South Africa

The escarpment seen from below resembles a range of mountains. The Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Lesotho Drakensberg have hard erosion-resistant upper surfaces and therefore have a very rugged appearance, combining steep-sided blocks and pinnacles (giving rise to the Zulu name "Barrier of up-pointed spears"). Who first gave these mountains their Afrikaans or Dutch name ''Drakensberg'', and why, is unknown. The KwaZulu-Natal – Free State Drakensberg are composed of softer rocks and therefore have a more rounded, softer appearance from below. Generally, the top of the escarpment is almost table-top flat and smooth, even in Lesotho. The "Lesotho Mountains" are formed away from the Drakensberg escarpment by erosion gulleys which turn into deep valleys containing tributaries of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

. The large number of such tributaries give the

Lesotho Highlands The Lesotho Highlands are formed by the Drakensberg and Maloti mountain ranges in the east and central parts of the country of Lesotho. Foothills form a divide between the lowlands and the highlands. Snow is common in the highlands in the winter ...

a very rugged mountainous appearance, both from the ground and from the air. The higher parts of Drakensberg have a mildly periglacial environment. It is possible that recent

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

has diminished the intensity of periglaciation. Knight and Grab mapped out the distribution of lightning strikes in the Drakensburg and discovered that lightning significantly controls the evolution of the mountain landscapes because it helps to shape the summit areas – the highest areas – with this blasting effect. Previously, angular debris was presumed to have been created by changes typical of cold, periglacial environments, such as fracturing due to frost.

Composition

The geological composition of Drakensberg (escarpment wall) varies considerably along its more than 1000 km length. The Limpopo and Mpumalanga Drakensberg are capped by an erosion resistant quartzite layer that is part of the Transvaal Supergroup, which also forms the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the ...

to the north and northwest of Pretoria. These rocks are more than 2000 million years old. South of the 26°S parallel the Drakensberg escarpment is composed of Ecca shales, which belong to the

Karoo Supergroup The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a per ...

, and they are 300 million years old.''Geological map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland ''(1970). Council for Geoscience, Geological Survey of South Africa. The portion of the Drakensberg that forms the KwaZulu-Natal – Free State border is formed by slightly younger Beaufort rocks (250 million years old) that also are part of the Karoo Supergroup. The Ecca and Beaufort groups are composed of sedimentary rocks that are less erosion resistant than the other rocks that make up the Drakensberg escarpment. Therefore, this portion of escarpment is not so impressive as the Mpumalanga and Lesotho stretches of the Drakensberg. The Drakensberg that form the northeastern and eastern borders of Lesotho, as well as the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, are composed of a thick layer of basalt (lava) that erupted 180 million years ago. That layer rests on the youngest of the Karoo Supergroup sediments, the Clarens sandstone, which was laid down under desert conditions, about 200 million years ago.

Geography

Peaks

The highest peak is

Thabana Ntlenyana Thabana Ntlenyana () is the highest mountain in southern Africa. It stands tall within the Maloti Mountains that crest Lesotho. The peak's name means "beautiful little mountain" in the Sesotho language, from ''thaba'' (mountain), the diminutive ...

, at . Other notable peaks include

Mafadi Maifadi is a peak on the border of South Africa and Lesotho. At a height of , it is the highest mountain in the nation of South Africa, but is lower than Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Lesotho which is, at , the highest point in Souther ...

(), Makoaneng at ,

Njesuthi Njesuthi or Injesuthi Dome is one of the highest mountains in the Drakensberg mountain range at . It is located on the border between Lesotho and the South African province KwaZulu-Natal. Also, less than 1.5 km away on the border is the ta ...

at ,

Champagne Castle Champagne Castle is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak (3149 m), Sterkhorn (previously called Mount Memory), Monk's ...

at ,

Giant's Castle Giant's Castle is a mountain located within the Drakensberg range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It includes a grassy plateau nestled among the deep valleys of the southern end of the central Drakensberg. Together, the shape of the peaks and ...

at , Ben Macdhui at , and Popple Peak at , all of these are in the area bordering on Lesotho, which contains an area popular for hikers, Cathedral Peak. North of Lesotho the range becomes lower and less rugged until entering Mpumalanga where the quartzite mountains of the Transvaal Drakensberg are loftier and more broken and they form the eastern rim of the Transvaal Basin, the

lying within this stretch. The geology of this section is the same as, and continuous with, that of the

Mountain passes

Ecology

The high treeless peaks of the Drakensberg (from upward) have been described by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

as the ''Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands''

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. These steep slopes are the most southerly high mountains in Africa, and being farther from the equator provide cooler habitats at lower elevations than most mountain ranges on the continent. High rainfall generates many mountain streams and rivers, including the sources of the

, southern Africa's longest, and the

Tugela River The Tugela River (; ) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , and a drop of 1370 metres in the lower 480 km, it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in M ...

. These mountains also have the world's highest waterfall, the

Tugela Falls Tugela Falls (uThukela in Zulu) is a complex of seasonal waterfalls located in the Drakensberg (''Dragon's Mountains'') of Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. According to some measurements, it is the ...

(Thukela Falls), which has a total drop of (Venezuela's Angel Falls is also a candidate for highest waterfall). The rivers that run from the Drakensberg are an essential resource for South Africa's economy, providing water for the industrial provinces of Mpumalanga and

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, which contains the city of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. The climate is wet and cool at the high elevations, which experience snowfall in winter. The grassy lower slopes (from ) of the Drakensberg in

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 ...

, South Africa and Lesotho constitute the ''Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests'' ecoregion.

Flora

The mountains are rich in plant life, including a large number of species listed in the Red Data Book of threatened plants, with 119 species listed as globally endangered and "of the 2 153 plant species in the park, a remarkable 98 are endemic or near-endemic". The ''flora of the high alti-montane grasslands'' is mainly

tussock grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

, creeping plants, and small shrubs such as

erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...

s. These include the rare Spiral Aloe ''( Aloe polyphylla)'', which as its name suggests, has leaves with a spiral shape. Meanwhile, the ''lower slopes'' are mainly grassland, but are also home to

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s, which are rare in Africa, the species of conifer found in the Drakensberg belong to the genus

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...

. The grassland is of interest as it contains a great number of

endemic 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 ...

plants. Grasses found here include oat grass ''

Monocymbium ceresiiforme ''Monocymbium'' is a genus of African plants in the grass family. ; Species * '' Monocymbium ceresiiforme'' (Nees) Stapf - widespread in sub-Saharan Africa from Liberia to Ethiopia to Cape Province * ''Monocymbium deightonii'' C.E.Hubb. - Guinea ...

'', '' Diheteropogon filifolius'', ''

Sporobolus ''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...

centrifugus'', caterpillar grass ''( Harpochloa falx)'', ''

Cymbopogon ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the Poaceae, grass famil ...

dieterlenii'', and Eulalia villosa. In the highest part of Drakensberg the composition of the flora is independent on slope aspect (direction) and varies, depending on the hardness of the rock

clasts Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks b ...

. This hardness is related to

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...

and is variable even within a single

landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement ...

Fauna

The Drakensberg area is "home to 299 recorded bird species"' making up "37% of all non-marine avian species in southern Africa". There are 24 species of snakes in the Drakensberg, two of which are highly venomous. One bird is endemic to the high peaks, the mountain pipit ''(Anthus hoeschi)'', and another six species are found mainly here: Bush blackcap ''(Lioptilus nigricapillus)'',

buff-streaked chat The buff-streaked chat or buff-streaked bushchat (''Campicoloides bifasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grass ...

''(Oenanthe bifasciata)'', Rudd's lark ''(Heteromirafra ruddi)'', Drakensberg rockjumper ''(Chaetops aurantius)'', yellow-breasted pipit ''(Anthus chloris)'', and Drakensberg siskin ''(Serinus symonsi)''. The endangered

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 ...

and

lesser kestrel The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer bird migration, migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and someti ...

are two of the birds of prey that hunt in the mountains. Mammals include

klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zi ...

''(Oreotragus oreotragus)'', eland ''(Taurotragus oryx)'', and

mountain reedbuck The mountain reedbuck (''Redunca fulvorufula'') is an antelope found in mountainous areas of much of sub-Saharan Africa. Subspecies There are three recognized subspecies. * ''Redunca fulvorufula adamauae'' - Adamawa mountain reedbuck * ''Redunc ...

''(Redunca fulvorufula)''. Other endemic species include three frogs found in the mountain streams, Drakensberg river frog ''(Amietia dracomontana)'', Phofung river frog ''( Amietia vertebralis)'', and Maluti river frog ''(Amietia umbraculata)''. Fish are found in the many rivers and streams, including the

Maluti redfin The Maluti redfin (''Pseudobarbus quathlambae'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is colloquially called the Maluti minnow, but it is not a true minnow. It is Lesotho's only endemic freshwater fish, and threatened by t ...

(''Pseudobarbus quathlambae'') that was thought to be extinct before being found in the

Senqunyane River The Senqunyane River is a river of central Lesotho. The river rises in the Maluti Mountains in northwest of Lesotho, and flows southwards and then westwards for 120 kilometres before joining the Senqu River (Orange River) in the southwest.Fitzpat ...

in Lesotho. Ukhahlamba Drakensburg Cliffs

The lower slopes of the Drakensberg support much wildlife, perhaps most importantly the rare southern

white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''), is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most Sociality, social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted f ...

(which was nurtured here when facing extinction) and the

black wildebeest The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) is one of two wildebeest species—the other being the blue wildebeest—in the family Bovidae. First described in 1780 by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann, ...

(''Connochaetes gnou'', which only thrives in protected areas and game reserves). The area is home to large herds of grazing fauna and antelopes such as eland ''(Taurotragus oryx)'',

reedbuck Reedbuck is a common name for Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Ea ...

''(Redunca arundinum)'',

''(Redunca fulvorufula)'',

grey rhebok The grey rhebok (''Pelea capreolus''), locally known as the ''vaalribbok'' in Afrikaans, is a species of antelope native to South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini. The specific name ''capreolus'' is Latin for 'little goat'. Description left, A ...

''(Pelea capreolus)'', and even some

oribi The oribi (; ''Ourebia ourebi'') is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only ...

''(Ourebia ourebi)''.

Chacma baboon The chacma baboon (''Papio ursinus''), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide vari ...

s also are present. Endemic species include a large number of

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

s and other reptiles. There is one endemic frog, the forest rain frog ''( Breviceps sylvestris)'', and four more species that are found mainly in these mountains; long-toed tree frog ''( Leptopelis xenodactylus)'', plaintive rain frog ''( Breviceps maculatus)'', rough rain frog ''( Breviceps verrucosus)'', and Poynton's caco ''( Cacosternum poyntoni)''.

Conservation

The ''high slopes'' are hard to reach so the environment is fairly undamaged. However, tourism in the Drakensberg is developing, with a variety of

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Howe ...

, hotels, and resorts appearing on the slopes. Much of the higher South African parts of the range have been designated as

game reserve A game reserve (also known as a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, the focus of a game reserve ...

s or

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s. 7% of the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion is in protected areas. These include

Golden Gate Highlands National Park Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State (South African province), Free State, South Africa, near the Lesotho border. It covers an area of . The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued, deeply eros ...

Sehlabathebe National Park The Sehlabathebe National Park is located in the Maloti Mountains in Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho and is part of the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site. The park was first established on 8 May 1969 and since then, is recognised as importa ...

, Tsehlanyane National Park, Malekgalonyane Nature Reserve, Giant's Castle Game Reserve, Loteni Nature Reserve, Natal National Park, Vergelegen Nature Reserve, Beaumont Nature Reserve, and

Lammergeier Highlands Nature Reserve The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70–90% bone. ...

. Of these the

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is a protected area in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, covering , and is part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park includes Royal Natal National Park, a Provincial pa ...

was listed by

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 ...

in 2000 as a

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

site. The park also is in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

). The

Royal Natal National Park Royal Natal National Park is an park in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and forms part of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Notwithstanding the name, it is actually not a South African National Park man ...

, which contains some of the higher peaks, is part of this large park complex. Adjacent to the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Site is the 1900 ha Allendale Mountain Reserve, which is the largest private reserve adjoining the World Heritage Site and is found in the accessible Kamberg area, the heart of the historic San (Bushman) painting region of the Ukhahlamba. The grassland of the ''lower slopes'' has been greatly affected by agriculture, however, especially by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

. Nearly all of the original grassland and forest has disappeared and more protection is needed, although the Giant's Castle reserve is a haven for the eland and also is a breeding ground for the

bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of ...

. 5.81% of the Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests ecoregion is in protected areas. These include

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 ...

Mountain Zebra National Park Mountain Zebra National Park is a national park in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; established in July 1937 for the purpose of providing a nature reserve for the endangered Cape mountain zebra. It is surrounded by of the Mountain Z ...

, Golden Gate Highlands National Park,

Camdeboo National Park The Camdeboo National Park is located in the Karoo and almost completely surrounds the Eastern Cape town of Graaff-Reinet. It contains the Nqweba Dam. The park is located on the southern foothills of the Sneeuberge, Sneeuberg Mountain ranges ...

, Sehlabathebe National Park, and Tsehlanyane National Park. GiantsCastlePanoramaSmall

The

Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area The Maloti-Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage Site, established on 11 June 2001 by linking the Sehlabathebe National Park in the Kingdom of Lesotho and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The highest peak is Thaba ...

was established to preserve some of the high mountain areas of the range.

Human habitation

Towns and cities in the Drakensberg area include, from south to north,

Matatiele Matatiele is a town located in the northern part of the Eastern Cape, Eastern Cape Province of Provinces of South Africa, South Africa. According to the South African National Census of 2011, its 12,466 residents (1,113.44 per km²) and 4,107 h ...

and

Barkly East Barkly East (Afrikaans: Barkly-Oos) is a town in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just south of Lesotho. The town lies ...

in the Eastern Cape Province; Ladysmith,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Ulundi Ulundi, also known as Mahlabathini, is a town in the Zululand District Municipality. At one time the capital of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa and later the capital of the Bantustan of KwaZulu, Ulundi now lies in KwaZulu-Natal Province (of whi ...

– the former Zulu capital,

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and

Ixopo Ixopo, also known as Stuartstown, is a town situated on a tributary of the uMkhomazi River along the R56 highway in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Background The town was laid out in 1878 and named after M Stuart, Resident Magistr ...

in KwaZulu-Natal; all of Lesotho, whose capital is

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...

; and

San cave paintings

There are numerous caves in the easily eroded sandstone of

Clarens Formation The Clarens Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the uppermost of the three formations found in the Stormberg Group of ...

, the layer below the thick, hard basalt layer on the KwaZulu Natal-Lesotho border. Many of these caves have

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s by the San (Bushmen). This portion of the Drakensberg has between 35,000 and 40,000 works of

San rock art The San, or Bushmen, are indigenous people in Southern Africa particularly in what is now South Africa and Botswana. Their ancient rock paintings and carvings (collectively called rock art) are found in caves and on rock shelters. The artwork d ...

, and is the largest collection of such parietal work in the world. Some 20,000 individual rock paintings have been recorded at 500 different caves and overhanging sites between the Drakensberg Royal Natal National Park and Bushman's Nek. Due to the materials used in their production, these paintings are difficult to date, but there is anthropological evidence, including many hunting implements, that the San people existed in the Drakensberg at least 40,000 years ago, and possibly more than 100,000 years ago. According to mountainsides.co.za, " Nd edema Gorge in the Central Ginsberg 3,900 paintings have been recorded at 17 sites. One of them, Sebaayeni Cave, contains 1,146 individual paintings." The website, south Africa.info, indicates that although "the oldest painting on a rock shelter wall in the Ginsberg dates back about 2400 years... paint chips at least a thousand years older have also been found." The site also indicates that " e rock art of the Drakensberg is the largest and most concentrated group of rock paintings in Africa south of the Sahara, and is outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject."

References

External links

*
KZN Drakensberg Homepage
– Official Website for the KwaZulu Natal Drakensberg *
Southern Drakensberg Tourism
– Southern Drakensberg Tourism
Nature – Drakensberg: Barrier of Spears
– PBS Nature episode covering the eland (largest member of antelope family) of the Drakensberg.
Drakensberg hiking trails

Maloti-Drakensberg
{{Authority control Afromontane ecoregions Climbing areas of South Africa Ecoregions of Africa Escarpments of Africa Extinct volcanism Great Escarpment, Southern Africa Landforms of KwaZulu-Natal Landforms of Mpumalanga Landforms of the Free State (province) Large igneous provinces Lesotho–South Africa border Montane grasslands and shrublands Mountain ranges of Lesotho Mountain ranges of Limpopo Mountain ranges of South Africa Mountain ranges of the Eastern Cape Precambrian volcanism Prehistoric Africa Triassic volcanism Volcanism of Lesotho Volcanism of South Africa World Heritage Sites in South Africa