NATURAL & HISTORICAL SITES

8 : The Southern Escarpment

The route now follows the base of the escarpment in a sweeping arc to the north. The mountain chain is almost 200 km long and when one views it from this point, one can appreciate why it presented such an impenetrable barrier to early settlement. The mountain range consists of porous sandstone and conglomerates and has been reliably dated as being about 1 900 million years old - half as old as the earth itself. Along this route the catchment provides water to the Doorndraai Dam and thence to the Sterkrivier, which ultimately winds its way to join the Mogalakwena River (the Nyl) and eventually the Limpopo, as do all four of the Waterberg's main rivers.