HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Groot Winterhoek mountains are located in the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...
province 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 coun ...
and are part of the
Cape Fold Belt The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with the Ventana Mount ...
comprising a watershed area of 552,606 hectares. They rise to a maximum height of 2077 m just north of the town of
Tulbagh Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three side ...
as Groot Winterhoek peak. The mountains are predominantly made up of
Table Mountain sandstone The Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS) is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks. Although the term "Table Mountain Sandstone" is still widely used in common parlance, the term TMS is no longer formally recogn ...
. Up to 83% of the range is still classified as being in a natural state and up to 72% of the range is protected. The towns of Saron and Porterville are located at the foot the mountain range's western side. A
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides h ...
in the northern half of the mountains is accessible via the Dasklip Pass. Mammals found in the range include
klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimm ...
, grey rhebok, grysbok, Cape mountain leopard (''Felis leopardus'' var. ''melanotica'' ), caracal, African wild cat, mongoose, and genets. A wide range of indigenous plant species, such as Agathosma,
Aspalathus linearis Rooibos ( ; , meaning "red bush"), or ''Aspalathus linearis'', is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a herbal tea that is called rooibos (especially in Sout ...
and various proteas (all of which are harvested commercially), naturally grow in the area. Common insects in the area include Black Mound Termites. Examples of San rock art dating back 6000 years can be found throughout the mountains.


Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area

The Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, operated by
CapeNature CapeNature (officially the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board) is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in Western Cape Province, South Africa. Parks managed by CapeNature West ...
, comprises a conservation area of 30,608 ha, and contains waterfalls, swimming holes, pristine rivers and mountain wilderness. Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area 01.jpg, Groot Winterhoek Wilderness main entrance gate Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area 02.jpg, Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area 05.jpg, Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area 06.jpg, Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area 08.jpg,
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 ...
trees and indigenous
fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean ...


References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of the Western Cape