Waterberg Biosphere

Waterberg
*(Thaba Meetse)*
Waterberg; (Thaba Meetse)
	River gorge in the Lapalala Wilderness of the Waterberg showing horizontal sandstone layering
Highest point
Peak	Geelhoutkop
Elevation	1,830 m (6,000 ft)
Listing	List of mountain ranges of South Africa
Coordinates	24°4′30″S 28°8′30″E / 24.07500°S 28.14167°E
Dimensions
Length	170 km (110 mi) NE/SW
Width	80 km (50 mi) NW/SE
Geography
	Waterberg; (Thaba Meetse) near Vaalwater
Country	South Africa
Province	Limpopo
Geology
Orogeny	Kaapvaal Craton
Age of rock	Neoarchean to early Paleoproterozoic
Type of rock	Bushveld Igneous Complex, sandstone
Climbing
Easiest route	From the towns of Vaalwater or Bela-Bela

The Waterberg (Northern Sotho: Thaba Meetse) is a mountainous massif of approximately 654,033 hectare in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2,000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is located just north of the mountain range. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landform.^[2] The ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld. Within the Waterberg there are archaeological finds dating to the Stone Age, and nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans.

Waterberg (Thaba Meetse) is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

^ Geelhoutkop - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve
^ C. Michael Hogan, Mark L. Cooke and Helen Murray, The Waterberg Biosphere, Lumina Technologies, 22 May 2006. "Lumaw". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2010.

[1] Geelhoutkop - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve

[Hogan-2] C. Michael Hogan, Mark L. Cooke and Helen Murray, The Waterberg Biosphere, Lumina Technologies, 22 May 2006. "Lumaw". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2010.

[1]

[2]