Operation Wildflower
  • Home
  • Albums
  • Links
    • Botanical Gardens
    • Other Sites
    • OWF Sites
  • Information
    • About Us
    • Articles
    • Contact Us
    • Disclaimer
    • Glossary
    • Plant Records
      • Aloes
      • Bulbs
      • Climbers
      • Cycads
      • Euphorbias
      • Ferns
      • Grasses
      • Herbs
      • Orchids
      • Parasites
      • Shrubs
      • Succulents
      • Trees
    • Sources of Information
    • Subject Index
Home Home » REGIONS » Magaliesberg » Magaliesberg crests
Back to Category Overview
Total images in all categories: 12,423
Total number of hits on all images: 7,762,331

Magaliesberg crests

Magaliesberg crests
Start View full size
[Please activate JavaScript in order to see the slideshow]
Previous Previous
Image 20 of 30  
Next Next
Image 22 of 30  
  • Eulophia streptopetala
  • Ficus ingens
  • Helichrysum setosum
  • Hypoxis hemerocallidea
  • Lippia javanica branch
  • Macledium zeyheri
  • Macledium zeyheri bud nearly opening
  • Magaliesberg at Hekpoort
  • Magaliesberg crests
  • Magaliesberg rock
  • Nature itself may die!
  • The Magaliesberg, scene of war and peace
  • The Moot Valley
  • Vachellia karroo, the sweet thorn
  • Vachellia sieberiana in Smuts finger grass
  • Ximenia caffra var. caffra
  • Ximenia caffra var. caffra fruit

Image information

Description

The long mountain range of characteristic Magaliesberg summits has been subjected to a complex series of geological upheavals over many millions of years that created these distinctive looks. Vincent Carruthers (1990) describes the shaving of the quartzite crests of the Magaliesberg range during the Dwyka Glaciation of around 345 million years ago in his book.

The melting of the thick glacial sheet that covered the range along its length towards the end of that era played a big role. The ice moved slowly southwards, scraping all protruding rock and debris from the tops. This yielded the uniformly rounded appearance of all the mountain crests along the range. 

By the time of these events this mountain was already more than two thousand million years old! That means more than half as old as the earth. Going back one million years in the history of mankind brings us to distant forebears of whom we know little. Looking ahead for another million may reach well beyond the existence of our species. The Magaliesberg will probably still be host... to whom or what?

Hits
465
Photographer
Jack Latti
Author
Ivan Latti
 
Back to Category Overview
Powered by JoomGallery