Hamerkop Kloof in the Magaliesberg

Magaliesberg from Breedtsnek to Tonquani

The Magaliesberg is a mountain range extending from Pretoria in the north-west of the Gauteng Province to a point south-east of Pilanesberg, in the North West Province, South Africa (see also Pilanesberg National Park). The highest point of the Magaliesberg is reached at Nooitgedacht (1 852 metres). 25° 51'S, 27° 30'E Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x1024, 1102 KB) own image I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x1024, 1102 KB) own image I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (999x753, 209 KB) satellite image Paul venter 08:28, 8 November 2006 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (999x753, 209 KB) satellite image Paul venter 08:28, 8 November 2006 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... City motto: Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria (May Pretoria Be Pre-eminent In Excellence) Province Gauteng Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... Capital Johannesburg Largest city Johannesburg Area  - Total Ranked 9th 17,010 km² Premier (List) Mbhazima Shilowa (ANC) Population   - 2001   - 1996   - Density (2001) Ranked 2nd 8,837,172 7,348,423 520/km² (Ranked 1st) Languages isiZulu (21. ... Northwest is the ordinal direction halfway between west and north on a compass. ... The Pilanesberg National Park is located in North West Province in South Africa, west of Pretoria. ...

Geography

The Magaliesberg Range has a very long geological history. Its quartzites, shales, chert and dolomite were deposited as sediments in an inland basin on top of the 3 billion year old Archaean Basement Complex. This process of sedimentation lasted for about 300 million years. About 2 billion years ago a massive upwelling of molten magma resulted in what is now known as the Bushveld Igneous Complex. The enormous weight of this intrusion depressed the sediments that lay beneath and tilted the sediments along the edges so that the broken scarps faced outward and upward, and the gentler dip slopes inward. During the same period these sediments were fractured and igneous intrusions filled the cracks. With the passage of time these intrusions eroded, especially on the dip slopes, forming deep kloofs or ravines providing excellent rock-climbing potential to modern man. This large dogbone-shaped area is now termed the Transvaal Basin and includes the lofty escarpment of the Transvaal Drakensberg overlooking the Lowveld in the eastern part of the country. Massive outpourings of igneous material of the much younger Karroo System later covered the Transvaal Basin, but was subsequently eroded so that it only remains along the Transvaal Basin's southern rim. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Another important geological feature of the area is the Witwatersrand gold reef, which was formed over hundreds of thousands of years. The reef's most northern tip was discovered only a few kilometers from the present day town of Magaliesburg, at Blaauwbank, in 1874. Witwatersrand is a low mountain range which runs through Gauteng in South Africa. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Magaliesburg is a small town situated on foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range in Gauteng, South Africa. ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The discovery at Blaauwbank was the first strike of the Witwatersrand system. Indeed, the first mining company near the current Johannesburg (the Nil Desperandum Co-operative Quartz Company) was formed here. Historically this can be seen as a very important event, as this mine attracted the first miners to the Witwatersrand area and this, together with the subsequent discovery of other rich and profitable veins of gold, eventually led to the creation of the largest urban conglomeration in Sub-Saharan Africa. , City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...

At present, the only "operational" gold mining activity in the area occurs at the Blaauwbank Gold Mine and Museum, situated close to Magaliesburg.

Climate

The range forms a natural barrier between the lower lying Bushveld to the north and the cooler Highveld to the south. The range receives rainfall in summer in the form of thunderstorms, with an average of 650mmm annually. In winter frost occurs frequently in the valleys on the southern side of the mountain, but almost never on the northern slopes. The Bushveld is a geographic region of South Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province and part of the North West Province. ... The Highveld is a high plateau area of South Africa which includes the largest metropolitan area in the country, Johannesburg. ...

History

The area around the Magaliesberg range has probably seen the longest occupation by humans of any place on earth. The reason for this claim is the discovery of the remains of the earliest hominin species (such as Mrs Ples) in and around the Sterkfontein Caves, which are situated some 20 minutes drive away from the town of Magaliesburg at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Genera Gorilla Pan (chimpanzees) Homo (humans) Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, including Homo sapiens and some extinct relatives, as well as the gorillas and the chimpanzees. ... Mrs. ... Archaeologists in a structure above the entrance to Sterkfontein. ... The Cradle of Humankind is a World Heritage Site first named by Unesco in 1999, about 50 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State...

The later inhabitants of the mountain range called them the Kashan mountains, but the name was later changed to Magaliesberg after the Tswana chief Magali who ruled his tribe at the same time the Voortrekkers were entering this area. In the nineteenth century, explorers such as David Livingstone and William Cornwallis Harris explored the area and made contact with some of the tribes living there. Tswana (Motswana, plural Batswana) is the name of a Southern African people. ... The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans for pioneers, literally those who move ahead or first/forward traveler) were white Afrikaner farmers, then known as Boers, who in the 1830s and 1840s emigrated during a series of mass movements of a number of separate trekking contingents under different leaders in what is called the... David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish medical missionary and explorer in central Africa. ...

In 1822 Shaka sent his most trusted commander, Mzilikazi, to conquer the Sotho tribes of the region. After accomplishing this task, Mzilikazi decided to break away from Shaka and found his own nation, the Matabele. As he feared an attack from Shaka if he returned home he settled in the Magaliesberg regions. 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Only known drawing of Shaka standing with the long throwing assegai and the heavy shield in 1824 - four years before his death Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. ... Mzilikazi (meaning the path of blood) (ca. ... The Sotho-speaking people have lived in southern Africa since around 15th century. ... The Matabele are a branch of the Zulus who split from King Shaka in the early 1820s under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former general in Shakas army. ...

On 17 January 1837, after some Voortrekkers had been attacked and killed by Mzilikazi's impis they counter-attacked and, under the leadership of Hendrik Potgieter and Gerrit Maritz, drove the Matabeles north across the Limpopo River. The Boers subsequently settled in the valleys of the Magaliesberg Range and turned the region into some of the most productive farmland in South Africa. January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1836 in South Africa, other events of 1837, 1838 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. ... Andries Hendrik Potgieter (19 December 1792 - 16 December 1852) was a Voortrekker leader. ... The Limpopo River arises in the interior of Africa, and flows generally eastwards towards the Indian ocean. ... Boer is the Afrikaans (and Dutch) word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the Afrikaans-speaking migrating farmers of the expanding eastern Cape frontier. ...

The area saw some heavy fighting during the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Boers, being extremely familiar with the mountains, used secret pathways across the mountains to launch guerrilla attacks on the British soldiers. Combatants United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand Orange Free State, South African Republic Commanders Frederick Roberts, Lord Kitchener Christiaan Rudolf de Wet, Paul Kruger Casualties 22,000 6,500 Civilians killed [mainly Boers]: 24,000+ The Second Boer War, also known as the South African War (outside of South Africa... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A soldier is a person who serves in an armed force for pay. ...

In response, the British forces built blockhouses on top of the mountains in order to restrict the movement of the Boer forces; ruins of these structures can still be seen to this day on the top of the mountain. A 19th-century-era block house in Fort York, Toronto In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. ...

Control of the Magaliesburg Mountain Range was of great importance to both the Boer and the British forces, especially the two routes between Pretoria and Rustenburg, which crossed it at Silkaatsnek and Kommandonek, respectively. As a result many battles, such as the battles of Buffelspoort, Nooitgedacht and Olifantsnek were fought in the area. Rustenburg (place of rest) is a large town situated in at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range in North West Province of South Africa. ...

After the end of the war, the farms in the area were quickly built up again and they were in full production a year or two later. Crops such as tobacco and citrus were particularly successful. Species Nicotiana acuminata Nicotiana alata Nicotiana attenuata Nicotiana benthamiana Nicotiana clevelandii Nicotiana excelsior Nicotiana forgetiana Nicotiana glauca Nicotiana glutinosa Nicotiana langsdorffii Nicotiana longiflora Nicotiana obtusifolia Nicotiana paniculata Nicotiana plumbagifolia Nicotiana quadrivalvis Nicotiana repanda Nicotiana rustica Nicotianasuaveolens Nicotiana sylvestris Nicotiana tabacum Nicotiana tomentosa Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005... Species & major hybrids Species Citrus maxima- Pomelo Citrus medica- Citron Citrus reticulata- Mandarin & Tangerine Major hybrids Citrus × sinensis- Sweet Orange Citrus × aurantium- Bitter Orange Citrus × paradisi- Grapefruit Citrus × limon- Lemon Citrus × latifolia- Persian lime Citrus × aurantifolia- Key lime See also main text for other hybrids Citrus is a common term...

In 1923 the Hartbeespoort Dam, situated in one of the valleys of the range, was completed. It subsequently became a very popular holiday and weekend destination for the inhabitants of Johannesburg as well as Pretoria and the town of Hartbeespoort was created as a result. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hartbeespoort Dam (officially the Hartbeespoort Dam Reservoir) is a dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa at the latitude 25. ... Hartbeespoort is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. ...

At present the Magaliesberg area is still largely agricultural, although tourism is an increasing economic activity in the area.

Kgaswane Mountain Reserve is a nature reserve above Rustenburg covering 4257ha of the Magaliesberg. Numerous smaller reserves, private and state, are to be found along the length of the range.

External links

• Mountain Club of South Africa
• Magaliesberg Protection Association
• Kgaswane Mountain Reserve
• Johannesburg Hiking Club