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Swartberg Pass
The Swartberg Pass on the R328 runs over the Swartberg mountain range (''black mountain'' in English) which runs roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid area called the Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It's the only road access to Gamkaskloof. History The construction of the Swartberg pass was started under the guidance of Jan Tassies who used 100 workers from Mozambique. After 13 months he went bankrupt and also only completed 6 km of the road! The rest of the pass was built between 1883 and 1888 by Thomas Bain, son of the famous Andrew Geddes Bain who built Bain's Kloof Pass and many more. It followed their earlier construction of another pass in 1858, the Meiringspoort, through the same mountains but further east. It was built using convict labour, and opened on 10 January 1888. The dry-stone retaining walls, supporting some of its hairpin bends, are still in place and over 130 years old. Geography To the north of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swartberg
The Swartberg mountains (''black mountain'' in Afrikaans) are a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is composed of two main mountain chains running roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little Karoo. To the north of the range lies the other large semi-arid area in South Africa, the Great Karoo. Most of the Swartberg Mountains are above 2000 m high, making them the tallest mountains in the Western Cape. It is also one of the longest, spanning some 230 km from south of Laingsburg in the west to between Willowmore and Uniondale in the east. Geologically, these mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt. Much of the Swartberg is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The two ranges The Swartberg consists of two officially named ranges, the Smaller and the Greater Swartberg Mountains. ''Klein Swartberge'' The Smaller Swartberg are the westernmost of the two. Ironically, this range is the higher one, including the province's high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wall Of Fire Swartberg Pass
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the superstructure or separate interior rooms, sometimes for fire safety *Glass walls (a wall in which the primary structure is made of glass; does not include openings within walls that have glass coverings: these are windows) * Border barriers between countries * Brick walls * Defensive walls in fortifications * Permanent, solid fences * Retaining walls, which hold back dirt, stone, water, or noise sound * Stone walls * Walls that protect from oceans (seawalls) or rivers (levees) Etymology The term ''wall'' comes from Latin ''vallum'' meaning "...an earthen wall or rampart set with palisades, a row or line of stakes, a wall, a rampart, fortification..." while the Latin word ''murus'' means a defensive stone wall. English uses the same word to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meiringspoort
Meiringspoort (Afrikaans for "Meiring's pass") is a South African mountain pass on the N12 national road, where it crosses the Swartberg mountain range. Geography The pass is a gateway that connects the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo, through a gorge with a 25 km road crossing the same river 25 times in the span of the 25 km. It runs between the modern town of Klaarstroom in the north, and the town of De Rust in the south. The mountains it crosses are those of the Swartberg range (Afrikaans for ''black mountain''). The Swartberg is amongst the best exposed fold mountain chains in the world, and the pass slices through magnificently scenic geological formations. The Swartberg chain runs roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid area called the Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa. To the north of the range lies the large semi-arid hinterland of South Africa, the Great Karoo. Much of the Swartberg is part of a UNESCO World Her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wall Of Fire (mountain)
Wall of Fire may refer to: * ''Wall of Fire'' (album), the second solo album by Peter Elkas * "Wall of Fire" (song), a song by The Kinks * Wall of Fire (mountain), a 700 m cliff face of vertically displaced quartzite in the Swartberg mountain range in South Africa * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire'', the fourth game in Koei's ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series * The Wall of Fire, also known as Incident II, the traumatic memories associated with the ruler Xenu in Scientology See also * Firewall (other) * Wall Fire The Wall Fire was a wildfire in 2017 near Bangor in Eastern Butte County, in California, in the United States. Initially named the Wall Incident, due to it starting near Chinese Wall Road, it was reported at 2:52 PM PDT on July 7, 2017. The fire ..., a 2017 wildfire near Bangor, Eastern Butte County, California * Ring of Fire (other) {{Disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Albert, South Africa
Prince Albert ( af, Prins Albert) is a small town in the Western Cape in South Africa. It is located on the southern edge of the Karoo, Great Karoo, at the foot of the Swartberg mountains. In recent years the moniker the "''Franschhoek of the Karoo''" has been used to describe the town's appeal to the art community and wealthier South Africans, many of whom have become residents of the town. History Prince Albert was founded in 1762 on a farm called Queekvalleij.The Great Karoo.com, ''Prince Albert Tourism Info'', available URL:http://www.thegreatkaroo.com/listings/tourism_info/western_cape/great_karoo/prince_albert, accessed: 11 February 2015 Originally known as Albertsburg, when it obtained Municipality, municipal status in 1845 it was renamed Prince Albert in honour of Queen Victoria's consort, Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Albert was historically part of the Cape Colony. During the latter part of the century, a nugget of gold was discovered on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1870 and 1900–1914, truly established the settlement. With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the Little Karoo region. The town's economy is primarily reliant on the ostrich farming and tourism industries. Oudtshoorn is home to the world's largest ostrich population, with a number of specialised ostrich breeding farms, such as the Safari Show Farm and the Highgate Ostrich Show Farm , as told by Mnr. Pierre D. Toit. Bhongolethu is a township east of Oudtshoorn. Derived from Xhosa, its name means "our pride". History Settlement The pioneer farmers in the area that would be known as Oudtshoorn arrived in the 1750s, and became well-established in the area by the end of the 18th century. In addition to rearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance. The sites are judged to contain " cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be a somehow unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable and has special cultural or physical significance. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains, or wilderness areas. A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of great natural beauty. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 193 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions that facilitate its global mandate. UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations's International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.English summary). Its constitution establishes the agency's goals, governing structure, and operating framework. UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations. It pursues this objective t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.Potgieter, D.J. & du Plessis, T.C. (1972) ''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa''. Vol. 6. pp. 306–307. Nasou, Cape Town.''Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa''. (5th Ed. 1993). pp. 78–89. Reader’s Digest Association of South Africa Pty. Ltd., Cape Town. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The ǃ’Aukarob formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hairpin Turn
A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hairpin. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy with switchback railways. Description Hairpin turns are often built when a route climbs up or down a steep slope, so that it can travel mostly across the slope with only moderate steepness, and are often arrayed in a zigzag pattern. Highways with repeating hairpin turns allow easier, safer ascents and descents of mountainous terrain than a direct, steep climb and descent, at the price of greater distances of travel and usually lower speed limits, due to the sharpness of the turn. Highways of this style are also generally less costly to build and maintain than highways with tunnels. On occasion, the road may loop completely, using a tunnel or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bain's Kloof Pass
Bainskloof Pass ( af, Bainskloofpas) is a mountain pass on the R301 regional road between Wellington and Ceres in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) pass, opened in 1854, was constructed by road engineer Andrew Geddes Bain with the use of convict labour. Originally built for horse-drawn traffic, the pass was later tarred. The pass reaches at its highest point. Here, the road joins the Witte River, which descends the northern side of the mountains through a precipitous cleft to a stretch of rapids, waterfalls and natural pools. Bainskloof Pass is now a national monument. After roadworks starting in 2018, it finally reopened to the public in June 2022. See also * Andrew Geddes Bain * Bainskloof moss frog * Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky Bain's Cape Mountain is a South African brand of whisky distilled at the James Sedgwick distillery in Wellington, Western Cape (Drakenstein Local Municipality). Launched in 2009, Bain's is South Africa's fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R328 Road (South Africa)
The R328 is a Regional Route in Western Cape, South Africa that connects Mossel Bay in the south to Prince Albert in the north via Oudtshoorn. Route Its northern origin is a junction with the R407 just south of Prince Albert. It heads south, approaching the Swartberg Mountains and it enters the Swartberg Pass. On the other side, it veers east-south-east. It gives off a short northern road to the Cango Caves just before turning south. It then heads south into the Schoemanspoort Pass. On the other side, it continues south to Oudtshoorn. At Oudtshoorn, it meets an intersection with the N12 and R62 and it becomes co-signed with the R62 westwards. Just outside the town, the route diverges from the R62 and continues in a southerly direction. It crosses the Outeniqua mountains at Robinson Pass to reach its terminus at a junction with the R102 at Hartenbos, just north of Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
