Drakensberg Mountains
The Drakensberg Mountains were first named by the Voortrekkers (Dutch-speaking ancestors of the modern-day Afrikaners) who, when seeing the forbidding, unbroken chain of mountains with their heavily weathered peaks, thought that it reminded them of the spines on the back of a dragon, hence the name 'Dragon Mountain' or Drakensberg in Afrikaans.
The average summit height is 3 200 metres, with the highest being 3 482 metres high. About 200 million years ago a vast outpouring of volcanic magma covered virtually the whole of southern Africa. Glacial movement tore and water action wore down this basalt in the interior, but on the sides, it eroded more slowly and in the Drakensberg one can see the 1 500 metre thick basalt (the dark rock) resting on top of the red sedimentary sandstone and 'red beds'.
The railway line ascends the Drakensberg Mountains via Van Reenen's Pass 1 840m. The sedimentary strata of the mountain rocks are clearly visible. In the winter these stunning mountains are draped in snow.
The average summit height is 3 200 metres, with the highest being 3 482 metres high. About 200 million years ago a vast outpouring of volcanic magma covered virtually the whole of southern Africa. Glacial movement tore and water action wore down this basalt in the interior, but on the sides, it eroded more slowly and in the Drakensberg one can see the 1 500 metre thick basalt (the dark rock) resting on top of the red sedimentary sandstone and 'red beds'.
The railway line ascends the Drakensberg Mountains via Van Reenen's Pass 1 840m. The sedimentary strata of the mountain rocks are clearly visible. In the winter these stunning mountains are draped in snow.
Labels: African Collage, Golf Safari
posted by African Luxury Train Destinations at
6:44 AM
0 Comments: