Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, near the

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

. It covers an area of . The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued, deeply

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on ...

s and

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

s, especially the Brandwag rock. Another feature of the area is the numerous caves and shelters displaying San rock paintings. Wildlife featured at the park includes mongooses, eland, zebras, and over 100 bird species. It is the Free State's only national park, and is more famous for the beauty of its landscape than for its wildlife. Numerous paleontology finds have been made in the park, including dinosaur eggs and skeletons.

Geography and climate

"Golden Gate" refers to the sandstone cliffs found on either side of the valley at the Golden Gate dam. In 1875, a farmer called J.N.R. van Reenen and his wife stopped here as they travelled to their new farm in Vuurland. He named the location "Golden Gate" when he saw the last rays of the setting sun fall on the cliffs. In 1963, were proclaimed as a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

, specifically to preserve the scenic beauty of the area. In 1981, the park was enlarged to , and in 1988, it was enlarged to . In 2004, the park was announced to be joining with the neighbouring

QwaQwa National Park The QwaQwa National Park is part of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park and the Maloti-Drakensberg Park and comprises the former Bantustan (homeland) of QwaQwa. It is approximately 60 km from Harrismith on the Golden Gate Road (R712) and ...

. The amalgamation of QwaQwa National Park was completed in 2007, increasing the park's area to . The park is from

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

and is close to the villages of Clarens and Kestell, in the upper regions of the Little Caledon River. The park is situated in the ''Rooiberge'' of the eastern Free State, in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains. The Caledon River forms the southern boundary of the park, as well as the border between the Free State and Lesotho. The elevation ranges from a plateau in the north to heights of in the south. The highest peak in the park (and also in the Free State) is ''Ribbokkop'' at above sea level. The park is located in the eastern

highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...

region of South Africa, and experiences a dry, sunny climate from June to August. It has showers, hail, and thunderstorms between October and April. It has thick snowfalls in the winter. The park has a relatively high rainfall of per year.

Vegetation

The park is an area of rich highveld and

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. It has more than 60 grass species and a large variety of bulbs and herbs. Each of these species has its own flowering time, meaning that veld flowers can be seen throughout the summer. The park also has

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

forests and high-altitude Austro-Afro alpine grassland, which is scarce in South Africa. The ouhout (''

Leucosidea sericea ''Leucosidea sericea'', commonly known as oldwood, is an evergreen tree or large shrub that grows in the highland regions of southern Africa. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus ''Leucosidea''. The name oldwood may reflect the fact that ...

''), an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

species, is the most common tree in the park. Ouhout is a favourite habitat of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s and 117 species occur on these trees in the park. The Lombardi poplars and weeping

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

s in the park are

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived the ...

, but are kept because of their cultural and historic connection with the eastern Free State. Other exotic species in the park, for example

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australia and South Africa **''Acacia'', large genus of shrubs and trees, native to Australasia **Black wattle, c ...

and bluegum, are systematically eradicated.

Wildlife

Instead of reintroducing one of the "big five" into the park, the sungazer lizard and water

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to ...

were reintroduced. Twelve species of mice, 10 species of carnivores, and 10 antelope species have been recorded in the park. The grey rhebuck and the mountain reedbuck were present when the park was established.

Mammals

File:Taurotragus oryx.jpg,

Eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

File:Bergriedbock 2007-08-16 201.jpg, Mountain reedbuck File:Ourebia ourebi cropped.jpg, Oribi File:Black Wildebeest.jpg, Black wildebeest File:Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi.jpg, Blesbok File:Burchell's Zebra (Etosha).jpg,

Burchell's zebra Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (Gra ...

File:Antidorcas marsupialis, male (Etosha, 2012).jpg, Male

springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...

File:Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus griseipes) male head.jpg, Chacma baboon

Birds

Over 210 bird species have been observed in the park,
, downloaded 17 July 2012. including the rare bearded vulture and the endangered

Cape vulture The Cape vulture (''Gyps coprotheres''), also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family '' Accipitridae''. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some ...

and

bald ibis __NOTOC__ The small bird genus ''Geronticus'' belongs to the ibis subfamily (Threskiornithinae). Its name is derived from the Greek ''gérontos'' (γέρωντος, "old man") in reference to the bald head of these dark-plumaged birds; in En ...

. Gyps coprotheres1.jpg,

Bartgeier Gypaetus barbatus front Richard Bartz.jpg, Bearded vulture ( :af:Lammergeier) Witkruisarend.jpg, Verreaux's eagle ( :af:Witkruisarend) Blue_Crane.jpg,

Blue crane The blue crane (''Grus paradisea''), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Description The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, ...

Sagittarius serpentarius Sekretär.JPG, Secretary bird

Snakes and fishes

Seven snake species, including the puff adder, mountain adder, and rinkhals, are found in the park. Kopf einer Puffotter.JPG, Puff adder Bitis atropos, Berg Adder in the Cedarberg.jpg, Mountain adder Hemachatus-1.jpg, Rinkhals Common carp.jpg, Carp Trout.jpg,

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

Barbus anoplus.jpg, Chubbyhead barb

Geology and palaeontology

The geology of the park provides very visual "textbook" examples of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

's geological history. The sandstone formations in the park form the upper part of the

Karoo Supergroup The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a pe ...

. These formations were deposited during a period of

aeolian Aeolian commonly refers to things related to either of two Greek mythological figures: * Aeolus (son of Hippotes), ruler of the winds * Aeolus (son of Hellen), son of Hellen and eponym of the Aeolians * Aeolians, an ancient Greek tribe thought to ...

deposition towards the end of the Triassic Period. At the time of deposition, the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologica ...

of the area the park covers was becoming progressively drier until arid desert conditions set in, resulting in a land of dunes and sandy desert, with occasional scattered oases. The deposition of the sandstones ended when

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

flowed out over the desert 190 million years ago. The following sequence of geological formations is visible in the park (starting from the bottom): the Molteno Formation, Elliott Formation, Clarens Formation, and Drakensberg Formation. The yellow-brown Golden Gate and Brandwag cliffs are made up of the Clarens formation. The layers in this formation are thick. The Drakensberg formation comprises the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

ic lava that flowed over the desert. It forms the mountain summits in the park. On Ribbokkop, it is thick. The Elliot Formation is a red mudstone where many dinosaur fossils have been found. The oldest dinosaur

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...

s ever discovered were found in the park in 1978. The eggs were from the Triassic Period (220 to 195 million years ago) and had fossilised foetal skeletons of '' Massospondylus'', a

prosauropod Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had ...

dinosaur. More examples of these eggs have since been found in the park. Other fossils found in the park include those of advanced cynodontia (canine toothed animals), small thecodontia (animals with teeth set firmly in the jaw), and bird-like and crocodile-like dinosaurs.

Accommodation

Accommodation in the park is available at Glen Reenen and Brandwag Rest camps. Caravan and camp sites with all amenities are available at Glen Reenen camp. The hotel was formerly part of Brandwag camp, but since its recent refurbishment, it is managed separately by SANParks as Golden Gate Hotel. The nearest town to Golden Gate Highlands National Park is Clarens (17 km to the west), but Phuthaditjhaba is also easily reached by a good tar road, driving through the access gate to the east of the park. Brandwag Hotel.JPG, Golden Gate Hotel. Glen Reenen in Golden Gate Nasionale Park.JPG, Glen Reenen camp Golden Gate MS2004 Bild1320.jpg, View of sandstone rocks in Golden Gate GoldenGateGrootKlip02.JPG, Huge rocks are to be found in the park.

Notes

This park will be included into the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, Peace Park.

References

External links

South Africa National Parks
Official site. {{Good article IUCN Category II Protected areas established in 1963 National parks of South Africa Protected areas of the Free State (province)