Mpumalanga () is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
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 countri ...
. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the
Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
and
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. It shares borders with the South African provinces of
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
to the north,
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
to the west, the
Free State to the southwest, and
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
to the south. The capital is
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
. Mpumalanga was formed in 1994, when the area that was the Eastern
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
was merged with the former bantustans
KaNgwane
KaNgwane () was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. It was called the "Swazi Territorial Authority" from 1976 to 1977. In September 1977 it was renamed KaNgwan ...
,
KwaNdebele
KwaNdebele was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Ndebele people. The homeland was created when the South African government purchased nineteen white-owned farms and install ...
and parts of
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1 ...
and
Gazankulu
Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga ...
. Although the contemporary borders of the province were only formed at the end of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, the region and its surroundings has a history that extends back thousands of years. Much of its history, and current significance is as a region of trade.
History
Precolonial Era
![Iziko Lydenburg Heads 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Iziko_Lydenburg_Heads_2.JPG)
Archeological sites in the Mpumalanga region indicate settlement by humans and their
ancestors
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
dating back 1.7 million years.
Rock paintings, engravings and other archeological evidence throughout the province indicate that Mpumalanga has a long history of human habitation by groups of hunter gathers. Excavations not far from the Mpumalanga border in the
Origstad district, show evidence of
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of pa ...
habitation dating back to 40,000 years ago.
The Lion Cavern, in
Ngwenya
Ngwenya is a town in western Eswatini, lying near the border with South Africa, north west of Mbabane, on the MR3 road. The South African town opposite Ngwenya is Oshoek in Mpumalanga province.
It is known for its glass factory and artwork ...
on the
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
border, shows evidence of people mining
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
in the Mpumalanga region and surrounding areas from at least 28 000 years ago. Evidence from mine shafts and trade goods shows that there was notable industry in tin, copper, gold, iron, ochre, and bronze. The
Lydenburg Heads
The Lydenburg Heads refer to seven terracotta heads that were discovered in association with other pottery artefacts in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa. They are among the oldest known African Iron Age artworks from South of the equator. Othe ...
, from around 500 CE, are Africa's oldest Iron Age artworks south of the equator were found in Mpumalanga. Evidence from a site near
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
shows evidence of agricultural societies from between the 6th to 17th century.
Bokoni
Bokoni (meaning 'land of the people from the north') was a pre-colonial, agro-pastoral society found in northwestern and southern parts of present-day Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Iconic to this area are stone-walled sites, found in a varie ...
stone-walled sites on the Mpumalanga highveld are indicative of a large precolonial agropastoral society between ~1500 and 1820 CE. These societies became centers of trade, with increasingly large and centralised populations, a pattern that increased as they connected to the Portuguese trading post in
Maputo Bay
Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...
.
In this era, groups that would become the
Swazi Swazi may refer to:
* Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa
* Swazi language
* Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...
,
Pedi,
Ndebele
Ndebele may refer to:
*Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa
*Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana
Languages
*Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele
*Northern Ndebele language, the language o ...
,
Mapulana
The Pulana or Mapulana, are a low-veld Sotho-Tswana ethnic group found in the northeastern part of the Mpumalanga and southeastern Limpopo provinces. Their language is called Sepulana (SeKutswe and Pai) and is considered dialect of the Northern ...
and others established themselves in the area that is now Mpumalanga.
Colonial Era
In 1845, as part of the
Great Trek
The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
, the first Dutch-speaking colonial settlers arrived in what they called the eastern Transvaal.
The rest of the 19th century in the region was characterised by colonial encroachment and conflict over land and political control. In 1852, the Boers established the
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
. The well established Pedi, Swazi and Zulu kingdoms put up significant resistance against the settlers. The
Pedi fought wars with the
Boers
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...
in 1876 (see
Sekhukhune Wars) and the
Zulu fought with
British settlers
The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820.
Origins
After the ...
in 1879 (see
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...
). These interconnected conflicts played a role in shifting the balance of power in southern Africa to colonial control.
After 1860, missionaries, especiailly German missionaries like
Alexander Merensky
Alexander Merensky (8 June 1837 in Panten near Liegnitz – 22 May 1918 in Berlin) was a German missionary, working in South Africa (Transvaal) since 1859.
Life
Alexander was orphaned early in life and grew up among relatives. In 1855, he ...
set up mission stations in the region, spreading Christianity and European values.
Just as the region had been a center for trade in the precolonial era, in the colonial era, the Eastern Transvaal region became an important thoroughfare for trade between
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; 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, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
and Delagoa Bay (now
Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...
). Gold mining around areas like
Pilgrims Rest and
Barberton and farming were the main forms of economic activity. On farms in the Transvaal, under a system known as
Inboekstelsel Inboekstelsel was a system of indentured child labour instituted by Europeans in Southern Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. The word is derived from the Dutch verb ''inboeken'' (register; literally "in-book"), referring to the requirement ...
, Boers carried out raids to capture children and forced them into indentured labour. During the
South African War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, the region was the site of notable battles.
Apartheid
When the
National Party came to power in 1948, their policy of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
intensified the segregation that had defined communities in the
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
. Under a policy of forced removals, Black South Africans were evicted from areas reserved for white people and moved into homelands, including
KaNgwane
KaNgwane () was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. It was called the "Swazi Territorial Authority" from 1976 to 1977. In September 1977 it was renamed KaNgwan ...
,
KwaNdebele
KwaNdebele was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Ndebele people. The homeland was created when the South African government purchased nineteen white-owned farms and install ...
,
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1 ...
and
Gazankulu
Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga ...
. As the apartheid regime implemented oppressive
policies
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
that defined almost every aspect of life, activists responded with resistance. In 1959, the small town of
Bethal
Bethal () is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies east of Johannesburg on the N17 National Route.
History
The town originated on an old farm ...
on what is now the Mpumalanga highveld was the center of the
anti-apartheid consumer potato boycott in response to the working conditions Black South African labourers faced on farms in the area. The region was influenced by dynamics in exile and elsewhere in the country, for instance
Black Consciousness
The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid Activism, activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum, political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African Nationa ...
, the
Sharpeville Massacre
The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of ...
and the
1976 Soweto Uprisings. In the 1980s, under intense repression, youth and labour organizations moblized against the government and townships and Bantustans erupted in political unrest and violence.
In 1986, an avoidable disaster killed 177 mine workers in
Kinross Mine in the region's highveld. The response to the disaster by the
National Union of Mineworkers was a key point in the South African labour struggle. By the late 1980s, the intensity of resistance across South Africa (including areas like Mpumalanga, which hadn't previously been seen as key areas of resistance) combined with economic factors and international pressure was strong enough to end apartheid. On 27 April 1994, when South Africa held its
first democratic elections, Mpumalanga province was formed. It was orginally called the "Eastern Transvaal" province, but the name was later changed to Mpumalanga on the 24th of August 1995.
Post-apartheid
The liberation movement turned leading party, the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) came into power in Mpumalanga after white minority rule ended. A program of
land redistribution
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
, aimed at granting land back to the black communities who were forcibly moved during apartheid, had redistributed tens of thousands of hectares to these communities and their descendants. However, the process has been marked by corruption, controversy and has been seen as inadequate to address the extent of apartheid spatial planning. In 2001, 1,270 hectares of the Boomplaats farm near
Mashishing was the first farm in South Africa to be expropriated. The post-apartheid era brought significant economic growth to Mpumalanga including notable progress in extending housing and basic services. However, poor governance, corruption and high levels of wealth and income inequality present persistent challenges to the province.
Geography
![Baberton greenstone belt view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Baberton_greenstone_belt_view.jpg)
The
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...
escarpment divides Mpumalanga into a westerly half consisting mainly of high-altitude
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 ...
called the
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 ...
and an eastern half situated in low-altitude subtropical
Lowveld
Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
/
Bushveld
The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...
, mostly
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
habitat. The southern half of the
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...
is in the latter region. The Drakensberg exceeds heights of 2000 m in most places, with this central region of Mpumalanga being very mountainous. These regions have alpine grasslands and small pockets of
Afromontane forest
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 ...
. The Lowveld is relatively flat with interspersed rocky outcrops. The
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
form a low range in the far east, on the border with
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
Some of the oldest rocks on earth have been found in the
Barberton area; these ancient
greenstones and
metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
granites
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedime ...
form the Crocodile River Mountains in the southeast of the province. The Lowveld is underlaid by
African Cratonic Basement rocks of ages in excess of 2 billion years. The Highveld is mostly
Karoo Sequence
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 peri ...
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
of a younger,
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
to
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...
age.
Mpumalanga is the only South African province to border two
provinces of Mozambique
Mozambique is divided into 10 provinces (''províncias'') and 1 capital city (''cidade'') with provincial status:
See also
*List of provinces of Mozambique by Human Development Index
*Districts of Mozambique
The provinces of Mozambique are d ...
(
Gaza Province
Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique.
Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to t ...
to the northeast and
Maputo Province
Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola.
Geography
...
to the east), as well as all four
regions of Eswatini
Eswatini (formerly ''Swaziland'') is divided into four regions: Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni. Each region is further divided into tinkhundla. There are 55 tinkhundla in Eswatini and each elects one representative to the House of Asse ...
(
Lubombo,
Hhohho
Hhohho () is a region of Eswatini, located in the north western part of the country. Hhohho was named after the capital of King Mswati II, who expanded the Swazi territory to the north and west, taking in the districts of Barberton, Nelspruit, ...
,
Manzini Manzini may refer to:
*Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini
*Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini
*Manzini (surname), an Italian surname
See also
*Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini
The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...
, and
Shiselweni
Shiselweni is a region of Eswatini, located in the south of the country. It has an area of 3,786.71 km² and a population of 204,111 (2017). Its administrative center is Nhlangano. It borders Lubombo in the northeast and Manzini Region in th ...
Districts).
Climate
The Lowveld is
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
, due to its latitude and proximity to the warm
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. The Highveld is comparatively much cooler and drier, due to its elevation of 1700 m to 2300 m above sea level. The Drakensberg escarpment receives the most
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
, with all other areas being moderately well-watered by mostly-summer
thunderstorms
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
. The Highveld often experiences considerable freezing, while the Lowveld is mostly frost-free. Winter rainfall is rare, except for some drizzle on the
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
. The differences in climate are demonstrated below by comparing the capital,
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
, which is in the Lowveld, with
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, which is an hour away on the Highveld.
* Mbombela averages: January maximum: 29 °C (min: 19 °C), July maximum: 23 °C (min: 6 °C), annual precipitation: 767 mm
* Belfast averages: January maximum: 23 °C (min: 12 °C), June maximum: 15 °C (min: 1 °C), annual precipitation: 878 mm
With
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
in the province, rainfall is becoming more variable, temperatures and evaporation rates are rising and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. It is predicted that these changes will shift biomes so that most of the province will be savanna.
Ecology
Some of the
earliest signs of life on Earth have been found in Mpumalanga. In the
Makhonjwa mountain range's greenstone belt near
Barberton, a fossil layer shows microbial activity that is 3.22 billion years old. This discovery indicates that life emerged on Earth 300 million years earlier than previously thought.
Mpumalanga has a high plant and animal diversity. Many species are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the province.
Endemic species
A partial list of species that are endemic to Mpumalanga
*
Roust Golden Mole (''Amblysomus robustus''), a mammal in the golden mole family.
*
Treur River Barb (''Enteromius treurensis''), a river fish.
* Barberton sugarbush (''Protea curvata)'', a
protea
''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos'').
Etymology
The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...
plant threatened by mining activity.
* Sim's Spotted Aloe ''(Aloe simii)'' an aloe threatened by road construction.
* Komati Waterberry ''(Syzygium komatiense)'' a species of
waterberry tree.
* ''Thorncroftia lotterii'' , a flowering plant.
* ''
Acontias albigularis
''Acontias albigularis'', the white-throated legless skink, is a species of lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island ...
,'' a lizard species.
* ''
Procrica mariepskopa
''Procrica mariepskopa'' is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in South Africa.
The wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the ...
,'' a moth species.
* Inkomati Mountain Catfish ''(Amphilius engelbrechti'')
* Yellow Baberton Grass Aloe ''(Aloe craibii)''
* Longtom oneye (''Monopsis kowynensis)''
* Graskop cliff aloe (''Aloe nubigena)''
Conservation areas
The diverse and special flora and fauna of the province enjoys protection in a range of nature reserves.
* Barberton Nature Reserve
*
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohrig ...
*
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a 35,000 km² peace park that is in the process of being formed. It will link the Limpopo National Park (formerly known as Coutada 16) in Mozambique, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Gonarezhou Nation ...
, previously known as Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park. This international game park brings together some of the best and most established wildlife areas in southern Africa. The park is managed as an integrated unit across an unprecedented three international boundaries which includes the
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...
(South Africa),
Limpopo National Park
The Limpopo National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Limpopo) was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilisation Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area.
It forms part of the Great Limpop ...
(
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
) and
Gonarezhou National Park
Gonarezhou National Park is a national park located in southeastern Zimbabwe. It is situated in a relatively remote corner of Masvingo Province, south of Chimanimani along the Mozambique border. Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its loc ...
(
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
).
*
Lowveld National Botanical Garden
The Lowveld National Botanical Garden, one of the nine National Botanical Gardens of South Africa is located just outside Mbombela, Mpumalanga at the confluence of the Crocodile River and Nels River, which are separated by an extensive promontor ...
in
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
*
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
Sabi Sand Game Reserve is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa. Officially named Sabi Sand Wildtuin, the Sabi Sand Game Reserve consists of a group of private game reserves. The Newington Gate ...
, which is built up of numerous private reserves: Nottens Bush Camp,
Idube Safari Lodge, Chitwa Chitwa Game Lodge, Djuma Game Reserve, Exeter Game Lodge, Inyati Private Game Reserve, Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, Londolozi Game Reserve,
Mala Mala Game Reserve
Mala Mala is a game reserve located within the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga province, South Africa. It is the largest and the oldest private big five game reserve in South Africa, It covers around 130 km or 15 000 hectares of land. In ...
, Savanna Private Game Reserve and Ulusaba Game Lodge.
* Verloren Vallei near
Dullstroom
Dullstroom, also known as Emnothweni, is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town lies north of Belfast and some south-west of Lydenburg on the R540 road. Dullstroom lies on the Highveld platea that is found in South Africa, ...
Many species of plants are unique to the different geological formations within Mpumalanga. Some examples of these formations include serpentines of Barberton Mountains,
norite
Norite is a mafic intrusive igneous rock composed largely of the calcium-rich plagioclase labradorite, orthopyroxene, and olivine. The name ''norite'' is derived from ''Norge'', the Norwegian name for Norway.
Norite also known as orthopyroxen ...
s of
Sekhukhuneland
Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named afte ...
,
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
s of
Blyde River Canyon
The Blyde River Canyon is a 26km long Canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the one of the larger canyons on Earth but much smaller than those of Asia, the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon. Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon ...
, and the
dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...
in the northern plateaus.
Law and government
Mpumalanga is governed by the
Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL), previously known as the Eastern Transvaal Legislature, is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Mpumalanga.
The First Legislature was inaugurated in May 1994 as the Eastern Tr ...
, a
unichameral system of 30 legislators democratically elected though a
closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively only vote for political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some inf ...
system. Under the constitution of South Africa, the legislature is intended to create laws, promote public participation and provide oversight.
From 1994 to the present, the African National Congress has been the leading party in the Mpumalanga legislature. As of the 2019 elections, the
Economic Freedom Fighters
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and hi ...
,
Democratic Alliance and
Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ab ...
are in opposition in the legislature.
Elected every five years, the
premier of Mpumalanga
The Premier of Mpumalanga is the head of government of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The current Premier of Mpumalanga is Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, a member of the African National Congress, who was appointed in March 2018. She took off ...
is the head of government in the province. Since 2018,
Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane
Refilwe Maria Tsipane (born 3 September 1973), known as Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (alternatively spelt Mtshweni), is a South African politician and a party member of the African National Congress (ANC), who has been serving as the 5th Premier of Mp ...
has held the office of premier.
Municipalities
![Map of Mpumalanga with districts labelled (2011)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Map_of_Mpumalanga_with_districts_labelled_%282011%29.svg)
Mpumalanga Province is divided into three
district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 18
local municipalities:
District municipalities
*
Ehlanzeni District
**
Bushbruckridge
**
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
**
Nkomazi
**
Thaba Chweu
**
Umjindi
*
Gert Sibande District
**
Albert Luthuli
Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967.
Luthuli wa ...
**
Dipaleseng
**
Govan Mbeki
Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African politician, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of Umkhonto we Sizwe, at its inception in 1961. He was also the son of Chief Sike ...
**
Lekwa
**
Mkhondo
**
Msukaligwa
**
Pixley ka Seme
*
Nkangala District
**
Delmas Delmas may refer to:
People
* Antoine Guillaume Delmas (1766–1813), French revolutionary and Napoleonic general
* Benjamin Delmas (born 1976), French ice dancer
* Bert Delmas (Albert Charles Delmas, 1911–1979), American baseball player
* Cali ...
**
Dr JS Moroka
**
Emalahleni
Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wag ...
**
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
**
Steve Tshwete
Steve Vukhile Tshwete (12 November 1938 in Springs, Transvaal – 26 April 2002 in Pretoria, Gauteng) was a South African politician and activist with the African National Congress. Involved in Umkhonto we Sizwe, Tshwete was imprisoned by the ap ...
**
Thembisile
Economy
Farming
![Farm in Mpumalanga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Farm_in_Mpumalanga.jpg)
68% of land area in the province is used by agriculture. The climatic contrasts between the drier
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, with its cold winters, and the hot, humid
Lowveld
Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
allow for a variety of agricultural activities. Mpumalanga has been an important supplier of fruit and vegetables for local and international markets for decades.
A history of dispossession mean that farming land is largely white owned, although policies of land redistribution era aim to address this.
Crops include maize, wheat,
sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
,
sunflower seed
The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower ('' Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...
,
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s,
macadamia
''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...
s, groundnuts,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
cane, vegetables, coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco,
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
, subtropical and deciduous fruit. Natural grazing covers approximately 14% of Mpumalanga. The main products are beef,
mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
,
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
, poultry and dairy.
Farming in the province is driven by both a combination of
seasonal
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
, permanent and temporary labourers. Conditions on farms vary widely but seasonal and temporary workers, many of whom are migrant workers from nearby
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, face intense insecurity.
Forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
is extensive around
Sabie
Sabie is a forestry town situated on the banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The name Sabie is derived from the siSwati word "Ulusaba" which means "fearful river" because the river was once teeming with dangerous Nile crocodile. ...
and
Graskop
Graskop is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. It was set up in the 1880s as a gold mining camp but it now serves as a tourist destination and the timber industry. “ God’s Window”, a scenic view from the escarpment of the Lo ...
. Located near the forests,
Ngodwana
Ngodwana is a town in Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the sou ...
is the site of one of South Africa's largest
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
s (
Sappi
Sappi Limited, originally incorporated as ''South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limited'' in 1936, is a South African pulp and paper company with global operations.
Products and operation
South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limite ...
).
Mining
Extensive mining is done and the minerals found include gold,
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
group metals,
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
,
chromite
Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...
, vanadiferous
magnetite
Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With the ...
, argentiferous
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
,
antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...
,
cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...
, copper, iron,
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
,
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
, coal,
andalusite
Andalusite is an aluminium nesosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. This mineral was called andalousite by Delamétehrie, who thought it came from Andalusia, Spain. It soon became clear that it was a locality error, and that the spe ...
, chrysotile
asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
,
kieselguhr
Diatomaceous earth (), diatomite (), or kieselgur/kieselguhr is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from more than 3 μm to le ...
,
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
,
magnesite
Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula (magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Occurrence
Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic ro ...
,
talc
Talc, or talcum, is a Clay minerals, clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thi ...
and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
.
Gold was first discovered in Mpumalanga province in 1883 by Auguste Roberts in the mountains surrounding what is now Barberton. Gold is still mined in the Barberton area today.
Mpumalanga accounts for 83% of South Africa's coal production. 90% of South Africa's coal consumption is used for electricity generation and the synthetic fuel industry. Coal
power station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many p ...
s are in proximity to the coal deposits. A
coal liquefaction
Coal liquefaction is a process of converting coal into liquid hydrocarbons: liquid fuels and petrochemicals. This process is often known as "Coal to X" or "Carbon to X", where X can be many different hydrocarbon-based products. However, the most c ...
plant in
Secunda (
Secunda CTL
Secunda CTL is a synthetic fuel plant owned by Sasol at Secunda, Mpumalanga in South Africa. It uses coal liquefaction to produce petroleum-like synthetic crude oil from coal. The process used by Sasol is based on the Fischer–Tropsch process. It ...
) is one of the country's two petroleum-from-coal extraction plants, which is operated by the
synthetic fuel
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming ...
company
Sasol
Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...
.
The high density of
coal power stations on the Mpumalanga
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 ...
means that the region has the highest levels of
nitrogen dioxide pollution in the world.
Attractions
Mpumalanga is popular with tourists.
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...
, established in 1898 for the protection of Lowveld wildlife, covering , is a popular destination. The other major tourist attractions include the
Sudwala Caves
The Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, South Africa, are set in Precambrian dolomite rock, which was first laid down about 2800 million years ago. The caves themselves formed about 240 million years ago. They are the oldest caves in the world.
T ...
and the
Blyde River Canyon
The Blyde River Canyon is a 26km long Canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the one of the larger canyons on Earth but much smaller than those of Asia, the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon. Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon ...
.
Many activities including the big jump, mountain and quad biking, horse trails, river rafting and big game viewing are endemic to the region. This is "
Big Five" territory. Towns in the
Lowveld
Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
are
Barberton,
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
,
White River,
Sabie
Sabie is a forestry town situated on the banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The name Sabie is derived from the siSwati word "Ulusaba" which means "fearful river" because the river was once teeming with dangerous Nile crocodile. ...
,
Graskop
Graskop is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. It was set up in the 1880s as a gold mining camp but it now serves as a tourist destination and the timber industry. “ God’s Window”, a scenic view from the escarpment of the Lo ...
,
Hazyview
Hazyview is a sub-tropical farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa, renowned for its large banana and macadamia nut industries, contributing about 20% of South Africa's bananas and 30% of macadamia output. Bordering the Kruger National Park, the ...
,
Malelane
Malalane (formerly Malelane) is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa situated on the N4 road (South Africa), N4 national highway. The farms in the region produce sugarcane, subtropical fruit and winter vegetables. The town was proclaimed in 1 ...
,
Pilgrim's Rest,
Lydenburg
Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. ...
and
Nkomazi.
In 2008, a
Haute Cuisine
''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pri ...
route was formed, trickling from
Mbombela
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north ...
down to Hazyview. The Lowveld Gourmet Route covers the four top fine dining restaurants the area has to offer. The restaurants include Summerfields Kitchen, Oliver's Restaurant, Orange and Salt.
Culture
![Ndebele Village, Mpumalanga, South Africa (20329039339)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Ndebele_Village%2C_Mpumalanga%2C_South_Africa_%2820329039339%29.jpg)
Mpumalanga is home to a diverse range of cultures, including Swazi, Ndebele, Afrikaans, Tsonga, Zulu, Mapulana, Portuguese and Pedi communities.
The Ndebele Cultural Village at
Botshabelo
Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large township set up in 1979 by the then apartheid government. It is located 45 km east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is now the largest t ...
is a renowned center of cultural heritage, with displays of
Ndebele house painting
Ndebele house painting is a style of African art practiced by the Southern Ndebele people of South Africa. It is predominantly practiced by the Ndebele women when House painting homes.
History
During the 18th century, the Ndzundza Ndebele peop ...
. Ndebele artist
Esther Mahalangu gained international acclaim for her artwork rooted in Ndebele traditions and geometric patterns. Prominent South African artist
Gerard Sekoto
Gerard Sekoto (9 December 1913 – 20 March 1993), was a South African artist and musician. He is recognised as a pioneer of urban black art and social realism. His work was exhibited in Paris, Stockholm, Venice, Washington, and Senegal, as wel ...
was born in
Botshabelo
Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large township set up in 1979 by the then apartheid government. It is located 45 km east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is now the largest t ...
.
Many celebrated South African musicians, such as
Ray Phiri
Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He was ...
,
Rebecca Malope
}
Batsogile Lovederia "Rebecca" Malope (born June 30, 1968) is a South African gospel singer. She is known as "The Queen of Gospel." Her music career spans more than three decades. She has sold at least 10 million albums worldwide, making her o ...
and
Pretty Yende
Pretty Yende (born 6 March 1985) is a South African operatic soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
Early life and education
Born in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, Yen ...
, are from Mpumalanga,
Since 2003, Mpumalanga's capital city, Mbombela, has hosted the
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
national arts festival Innibos. The festival features music, comedy, arts, crafts and theatre.
Gallery
File:Landscape kruger-park.jpg, Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...
.
File:Motlatse Canyon Bourke's Luck Potholes bridge (2).jpg, Bourke's Luck Potholes.
File:Three Rondavels Blyde River Canyon.jpg, ''Three Rondavels'' of the Blyde River Canyon
The Blyde River Canyon is a 26km long Canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the one of the larger canyons on Earth but much smaller than those of Asia, the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon. Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon ...
.
File:Eastern Transvaal.jpg, Escarpment.
File:Lisbon Falls - Tvl.jpg, ''Lisbon Falls''.
File:Pilgrim Rest.jpg, '' Pilgrim's Rest''.
File:Blyde.jpg, Treur River
The Treur River (from Afrikaans: mourning river) is a small river in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The R532 motor route intersects it twice. Its ultimate origin is inside the Blyde River Canyon Natu ...
Demographics
![Mpumalanga dominant language map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Mpumalanga_2001_dominant_language_map.svg)
Mpumalanga's population is 4,039,939 people (according to the 2011 census).
The average population density is 52.81 people per km².
Some 30% of the people speak
siSwati
The Swazi or siSwati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 2.4 million. The language is taught in Eswatini and so ...
, the language of neighbouring
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, with 26% speaking
isiZulu
Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal of ...
, 10.3%
isiNdebele, 10.2%
Northern Sotho
Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche.
According to the South African National Census of ...
and 11.6%
Xitsonga
Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, als ...
. As of the 2011 census, approximately 90.65% of Mpumalanga's population are Black, 7.51% are White, and 0.91% are
Coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
and 0.69% are Indian or Asian.
See also
*
List of heritage sites in Mpumalanga
*
List of speakers of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
The Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature is the legislative speaker and principal presiding officer in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (until 1995 called the Eastern Transvaal Provincial Legislature). The Speaker chairs the l ...
References
External links
Mpumalanga Provincial GovernmentMpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency
{{Authority control
Provinces of South Africa
States and territories established in 1994
1994 establishments in South Africa