Oribi Gorge
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Oribi Gorge | |
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Oribi Gorge on the map of KwaZulu-Natal | |
Location | KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
Coordinates | 30°43′11″S 30°16′12″E / 30.7197°S 30.27°ECoordinates: 30°43′11″S 30°16′12″E / 30.7197°S 30.27°E[1] |
Oribi Gorge is a canyon in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 35 kilometres north-west of Port Shepstone, which itself is 120 km south of Durban. Oribi Gorge, cut by the , is the eastern gorge of two gorges that cut through the Oribi Flats (flat sugarcane farmlands) of KwaZulu-Natal. The western gorge was formed by the Mzimkulu River. The gorge is approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, and almost 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide at its widest.
Erosion by these rivers have carved out nearly 30 kilometres (19 mi) of spectacular kloofs and crags, covered with subtropical vegetation.[2] In the gorge, the dense forest on the sandstone slopes is home to various small mammals, while the large leguaans excavate their burrows along the riverbanks.[3]
At the base of the cliffs of both gorges the basement rocks are part of the , which is over 1000 million years old. The cliffs themselves are formed by Msikaba formation sandstones deposited by fluvial environment about 365 million years ago.[4] Downstream from the gorges, a large surface mine producing cement from a limestone deposit. The road through Oribi Gorge was built by Italian prisoners of war.
Oribi Gorge derives its name from the oribi, a small antelope that lives in the gorges.
Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve[]
Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve is a park located along the bottom of the Oribi Gorge at the confluence of the Mzimkulu River and Mximkulwana River, being approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) long, and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide at its widest point. It was proclaimed a protected state forest in 1950.
Animals[]
In addition to the oribi and leguaans, vertebrates include bushbuck, duiker, reedbuck, vervet monkeys, Samango monkeys, various frogs and turtles.[5]
Samango monkey bushbuck leguaan
References[]
- ^ "Oribi Gorge Provincial Nature Reserve". protectedplanet.net.
- ^ Glen, H. F. (1996). "A description of the vegetation of Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, Natal, part I". Trees in South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Tree Society of Southern Africa. 46: 18–27.
- ^ Bayless, Mark K. (2002). "Monitor lizards: a pan‐African check‐list of their zoogeography (Sauria: Varanidae: Polydaedalus)". Journal of Biogeography. 29 (12): 1643–1701. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2002.00779.x.
- ^ Thomas, R. J. (1988). "The petrology of the Oribi Gorge Suite; Kibaran charnockitic granitoids from southern Natal". South African Journal of Geology. 91 (2): 275–291.
- ^ Bourquin, O. & Mathias, I. (1994). "The vertebrates of Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve: 1". The Lammergeyer. 33: 35–44.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oribi Gorge. |
- Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (previously known as Natal Parks Board)
- Oribi Gorge Information Page
- 360 degree Virtual Tour of Oribi Gorge
- KwaZulu-Natal South Coast
- Protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal
- Canyons and gorges of South Africa
- KwaZulu-Natal geography stubs