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53-843: The Blyde River Canyon is a 26 km long Canyon located in Mpumalanga , South Africa . It is one of the larger canyons on Earth but much smaller than those of Asia, the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon . Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon, the Blyde River Canyon is a "green canyon" which is dominated by subtropical vegetation. The canyon forms part of the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve . The Blyde River Canyon passes

106-578: A breeding pair lives in the nearby Abel Erasmus Pass ), Cape eagle owl , white-faced owl , wood owl , peregrine falcon , black-breasted snake eagle , Wahlberg's eagle , long-crested eagle , lanner falcon , red-breasted sparrowhawk , rock kestrel and others. At 200 metres (660 ft), the Kadishi Tufa waterfall is the second tallest tufa waterfall on earth. A tufa waterfall is formed when water running over dolomite rock absorbs calcium, and deposits rock formations more rapidly than they erode

159-470: A name derived from a voortrekkers ' expedition. The 'happy river' was thus named in 1844, when Hendrik Potgieter and others returned safely from Delagoa Bay to the rest of their party of trekkers who had considered them dead. While still under this misapprehension they had named the nearby river where they had been encamped, Treurrivier , or 'mourning river'. In 2005, the Blyde River was renamed to

212-843: A rift between two mountain peaks, such as those in ranges including the Rocky Mountains , the Alps , the Himalayas or the Andes . Usually, a river or stream carves out such splits between mountains. Examples of mountain-type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite Valley in California's Sierra Nevada . Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side, are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that often have smooth walls. Steep-sided valleys in

265-682: A rock formation known as the " Three Rondavels ". So named as the formation resembles three African-style houses or rondavels . This canyon is part of the Panorama Route . This route starts at the town Graskop and includes God's Window , the Pinnacle and Bourke's Luck Potholes . The canyon is named for the river that runs through it, the Blyde River , now called the Motlatse River . Blyde means "glad" or "happy" in old Dutch,

318-579: Is actually 1 km wider than the Grand Canyon, making it the widest canyon in the world. Some canyons have notable cultural significance. Evidence of archaic humans has been discovered in Africa's Olduvai Gorge . In the southwestern United States, canyons are important archeologically because of the many cliff-dwellings built in such areas, largely by the ancient Pueblo people who were their first inhabitants. The following list contains only

371-610: Is due to a failed westerly branch of the main rift that caused Antarctica to start drifting away from southern Africa during the breakup of Gondwana about 150 million years ago. The lower Limpopo River and Save River drain into the Indian Ocean through what remains of this relict incipient rift valley, which now forms part of the South African Lowveld . During the past 20 million years, southern Africa has experienced massive uplifting, especially in

424-609: 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

477-727: Is home to large herds of grazing fauna and antelopes such as eland (Taurotragus oryx) , reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) , mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) , grey rhebok (Pelea capreolus) , and even some oribi (Ourebia ourebi) . Chacma baboons also are present. Endemic species include a large number of chameleons 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 ) . The high slopes are hard to reach so

530-814: Is known as 'Klein Drakensberg' by the Afrikaner . From Hoedspruit it extends west to Tzaneen , also in Limpopo Province , where it is known as the Wolkberg Mountains and Iron Crown Mountain. At 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level, the Wolkberg is the highest elevation in Limpopo. The escarpment extends west again and at Mokopane it is known as the Strydpoort Mountains. The Afrikaans name Drakensberge comes from

583-676: Is occasionally used in the United Kingdom . In South Africa, kloof (in Krantzkloof Nature Reserve ) is used along with canyon (as in Blyde River Canyon ) and gorge (in Oribi Gorge ). Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on

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636-671: Is part of the Transvaal Supergroup, which also forms the Magaliesberg 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 , and they are 300 million years old. The portion of the Drakensberg that forms the KwaZulu-Natal – Free State border

689-568: Is similarly high, including the beautiful and much sought Narina trogon as well as species such as the Cape vulture , black eagle , crowned eagle , African fish eagle , gymnogene , jackal buzzard , white-rumped vulture , bald ibis , African finfoot , Knysna lourie , purple-crested lourie , Gurney's sugarbird , malachite sunbird , cinnamon dove , African emerald cuckoo , red-backed mannikin , golden-tailed woodpecker , olive bush shrike , green twinspot , Taita falcons (very rarely sighted,

742-539: Is similarly imprecise, especially if one includes mountain canyons, as well as canyons cut through relatively flat plateaus (which have a somewhat well-defined rim elevation). The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (or Tsangpo Canyon), along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet , is regarded by some as the deepest canyon on Earth at 5,500 metres (18,000 ft). It is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in

795-598: Is soluble to a certain extent, cave systems form in the rock. When a cave system collapses, a canyon is left, as in the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire , England. A box canyon is a small canyon that is generally shorter and narrower than a river canyon, with steep walls on three sides, allowing access and egress only through the mouth of the canyon. Box canyons were frequently used in

848-577: Is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia . In August 2013, the discovery of Greenland 's Grand Canyon was reported, based on the analysis of data from Operation IceBridge . It is located under an ice sheet. At 750 kilometres (470 mi) long, it is believed to be the longest canyon in the world. Despite not being quite as deep or long as the Grand Canyon, the Capertee Valley in Australia

901-538: 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 . Nearly all of the original grassland and forest has disappeared and more protection is needed, although

954-563: 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 large number of such tributaries give

1007-601: The Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests ecoregion. 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 , creeping plants, and small shrubs such as ericas . These include

1060-582: The Eastern Cape and the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal Province . Thereafter it forms the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State , and next as the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Province . The escarpment winds north from there, through Mpumalanga, where it includes features such as the Blyde River Canyon , Three Rondavels , and God's Window . It then extends farther north to Hoedspruit in southeastern Limpopo where it

1113-585: The Giant's Castle reserve is a haven for the eland and also is a breeding ground for the bearded vulture . 5.81% of the Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests ecoregion is in protected areas. These include Kruger National Park , Mountain Zebra National Park , Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Camdeboo National Park , Sehlabathebe National Park, and Tsehlanyane National Park. The Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area

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1166-534: The Lesotho Highlands 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 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

1219-475: The Magaliesberg . The high treeless peaks of the Drakensberg (from 2,500 m (8,200 ft) upward) have been described by the World Wide Fund for Nature as the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion . 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

1272-461: The United States , place names generally use canyon in the southwest (due to their proximity to Spanish-speaking Mexico ) and gorge in the northeast (which is closer to French Canada ), with the rest of the country graduating between these two according to geography. In Canada , a gorge is usually narrow while a ravine is more open and often wooded. The military-derived word defile

1325-642: The seabed of the continental slope are referred to as submarine canyons . Unlike canyons on land, submarine canyons are thought to be formed by turbidity currents and landslides . The word canyon is Spanish in origin ( cañón , pronounced [kaˈɲon] ), with the same meaning. The word canyon is generally used in North America , while the words gorge and ravine (French in origin) are used in Europe and Oceania , though gorge and ravine are also used in some parts of North America. In

1378-687: The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage site. The park also is in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention ). The Royal Natal National Park , 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

1431-460: The western United States as convenient corrals, with their entrances fenced. The definition of "largest canyon" is imprecise, because a canyon can be large by its depth, its length, or the total area of the canyon system. Also, the inaccessibility of the major canyons in the Himalaya contributes to their not being regarded as candidates for the biggest canyon. The definition of "deepest canyon"

1484-823: 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, "[i]n 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

1537-481: The Drakensberg are an essential resource for South Africa's economy, providing water for the industrial provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng , which contains the city of Johannesburg . The climate is wet and cool at the high elevations, which experience snowfall in winter. The grassy lower slopes (from 1,800 to 2,500 m (5,900 to 8,200 ft)) of the Drakensberg in Eswatini , South Africa and Lesotho constitute

1590-511: 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 (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 and lesser kestrel are two of

1643-644: The Motlatse River, and the Mpumalanga Provincial Government announced that the canyon would be renamed as well. The Blyde River Canyon supports large diversity of life, including numerous fish and antelope species as well as hippos and crocodiles , and every primate species that may be seen in South Africa (including both greater and lesser bushbabies, vervet monkeys and Samango monkeys ). The diversity of birdlife

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1696-596: The United States, with an average depth of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and a volume of 4.17 trillion cubic metres (147 trillion cubic feet), is one of the world's largest canyons. It was among the 28 finalists of the New 7 Wonders of Nature worldwide poll. (Some referred to it as one of the seven natural wonders of the world .) The largest canyon in Europe is Tara River Canyon . The largest canyon in Africa

1749-627: The United States. Others consider the Kali Gandaki Gorge in midwest Nepal to be the deepest canyon, with a 6,400-metre (21,000 ft) difference between the level of the river and the peaks surrounding it. Vying for the deepest canyon in the Americas is the Cotahuasi Canyon and Colca Canyon , in southern Peru. Both have been measured at over 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) deep. The Grand Canyon of northern Arizona in

1802-578: 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 Blyde River Canyon lying within this stretch. The geology of this section is the same as, and continuous with, that of

1855-419: The birds of prey that hunt in the mountains. Mammals include klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) , eland (Taurotragus oryx) , and mountain reedbuck (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

1908-746: The canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging. Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite . Sometimes large rivers run through canyons as the result of gradual geological uplift. These are called entrenched rivers , because they are unable to easily alter their course. In the United States, the Colorado River in the Southwest and the Snake River in the Northwest are two examples of tectonic uplift . Canyons often form in areas of limestone rock. As limestone

1961-537: The central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – 2,000 to 3,482 metres (6,562 to 11,424 feet) within the border region of South Africa and Lesotho . The Drakensberg escarpment stretches for more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the Eastern Cape Province in the South, then successively forms, in order from south to north, the border between Lesotho and

2014-530: The continent. High rainfall generates many mountain streams and rivers, including the sources of the Orange River , southern Africa's longest, and the Tugela River . These mountains also have the world's highest waterfall, the Tugela Falls (Thukela Falls), which has a total drop of 947 m (3,107 ft) (Venezuela's Angel Falls is also a candidate for highest waterfall). The rivers that run from

2067-582: The easily eroded sandstone of Clarens Formation , the layer below the thick, hard basalt layer on the KwaZulu Natal-Lesotho border. Many of these caves have paintings by the San (Bushmen). This portion of the Drakensberg has between 35,000 and 40,000 works of San rock art , 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

2120-411: The east, with the result that most of the plateau lies above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) 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 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It reaches its highest point of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) where

2173-711: The environment is fairly undamaged. However, tourism in the Drakensberg is developing, with a variety of hiking trails , hotels, and resorts appearing on the slopes. Much of the higher South African parts of the range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas . 7% of the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion is in protected areas. These include Golden Gate Highlands National Park , Sehlabathebe National Park , 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 . Of these

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2226-631: The escarpment forms part of the international border between Lesotho and the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal . 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,

2279-499: 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. 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

2332-422: 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 . This hardness is related to weathering and is variable even within a single landform . 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

2385-595: The many rivers and streams, including the Maluti redfin ( Pseudobarbus quathlambae ) that was thought to be extinct before being found in the Senqunyane River in Lesotho. The lower slopes of the Drakensberg support much wildlife, perhaps most importantly the rare southern white rhinoceros (which was nurtured here when facing extinction) and the black wildebeest ( Connochaetes gnou , which as of 2011 only thrives in protected areas and game reserves). The area

2438-493: The most notable canyons of the world, grouped by region. Venus has many craters and canyons on its surface. The troughs on the planet are part of a system of canyons that is more than 6,400 km long. [REDACTED] Environment portal Drakensberg The Drakensberg ( Zulu : uKhahlamba, Sotho : Maloti, Afrikaans : Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment , which encloses

2491-636: The name the earliest Dutch 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 Sotho ("Barrier of up-pointed spears"). The Great Escarpment is composed of steep rift valley walls formed around a bulging of continental crust during the breakup of southern Gondwana that have since eroded inland from their original positions near

2544-804: 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. The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana , at 3,482 m (11,424 ft). Other notable peaks include Mafadi (3,450 m (11,319 ft)), Makoaneng at 3,416 metres (11,207 ft), Njesuthi at 3,408 metres (11,181 ft), Champagne Castle at 3,377 metres (11,079 ft), Giant's Castle at 3,315 metres (10,876 ft), Ben Macdhui at 3,001 metres (9,846 ft), and Popple Peak at 3,331 metres (10,928 ft), all of these are in

2597-600: 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 conifers , which are rare in Africa, the species of conifer found in the Drakensberg belong to the genus Podocarpus . The grassland is of interest as it contains a great number of endemic plants. Grasses found here include oat grass Monocymbium ceresiiforme , Diheteropogon filifolius , Sporobolus centrifugus , caterpillar grass ( Harpochloa falx ) , Cymbopogon dieterlenii , and Eulalia villosa . In

2650-402: 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 450 km (280 mi) to the north of Tzaneen (to reappear on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Chimanimani Mountains )

2703-431: The surrounding rock. In the case of the Kadishi Tufa fall, the formation that has been produced strikingly resembles a face which is crying profusely, and is thus sometimes known as 'the weeping face of nature'. The canyon and the surrounding Drakensberg escarpment is a very popular tourist region with a well-developed tourism industry supported by good public infrastructure. Canyon A canyon may also refer to

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2756-456: The valley walls. Canyons are much more common in arid areas than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and water from the river combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials such as shales . The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons. Water seeps into cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing large chunks to break off

2809-421: Was established to preserve some of the high mountain areas of the range. Towns and cities in the Drakensberg area include, from south to north, Matatiele and Barkly East in the Eastern Cape Province; Ladysmith , Newcastle , Ulundi – the former Zulu capital, Dundee , and Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal; all of Lesotho, whose capital is Maseru ; and Tzaneen in Limpopo Province . There are numerous caves in

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