Blyde River Canyon

Last updated
Blyde River Canyon
South Africa adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Mpumalanga, South Africa
Length26 km (16 mi)
Geography
Coordinates 24°35′S30°48′E / 24.59°S 30.80°E / -24.59; 30.80
Rivers Blyde River

The Blyde River Canyon is a 26km long [1] 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. [1] [2] Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon, the Blyde River Canyon is a "green canyon" which is dominated by subtropical vegetation. The canyon forms part of the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.

Contents

The Blyde River Canyon passes a rock formation known as the "Three Rondavels". So named as the formation resembles three African-style houses or rondavels. This canyon is part of the Panorama Route. This route starts at the town Graskop and includes God's Window, the Pinnacle and Bourke's Luck Potholes.

Name

The Blyde River Canyon Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga.jpg
The Blyde River Canyon

The canyon is named for the river that runs through it, the Blyde River, now called the Motlatse River. Blyde means "glad" or "happy" [3] in old Dutch, a name derived from a voortrekkers' expedition. The 'happy river' was thus named in 1844, when Hendrik Potgieter and others returned safely from Delagoa Bay to the rest of their party of trekkers who had considered them dead. While still under this misapprehension they had named the nearby river where they had been encamped, Treurrivier, or 'mourning river'.

In 2005, the Blyde River was renamed to the Motlatse River, and the Mpumalanga Provincial Government announced that the canyon would be renamed as well.[ clarification needed ] [4]

Fauna and flora

The Blyde as it exits the canyon near Swadeni BlydeRiverCanyonViewOfaSideofACliff.JPG
The Blyde as it exits the canyon near Swadeni

The Blyde River Canyon supports large diversity of life, including numerous fish and antelope species as well as hippos and crocodiles, and every primate species that may be seen in South Africa (including both greater and lesser bushbabies, vervet monkeys and Samango monkeys). The diversity of birdlife is similarly high, including the beautiful and much sought Narina trogon as well as species such as the Cape vulture, black eagle, crowned eagle, African fish eagle, gymnogene, jackal buzzard, white-rumped vulture, bald ibis, African finfoot, Knysna lourie, purple-crested lourie, Gurney's sugarbird, malachite sunbird, cinnamon dove, African emerald cuckoo, red-backed mannikin, golden-tailed woodpecker, olive bush shrike, green twinspot, Taita falcons (very rarely sighted, a breeding pair lives in the nearby Abel Erasmus Pass), Cape eagle owl, white-faced owl, wood owl, peregrine falcon, black-breasted snake eagle, Wahlberg's eagle, long-crested eagle, lanner falcon, red-breasted sparrowhawk, rock kestrel and others.

Kadishi waterfall

The weeping face of nature WeepingFaceofNatureInBlydeRiverCanyon.JPG
The weeping face of nature
The upper canyon as seen from Bourke's Luck at the Treur-Blyde confluence BlydeRiverSouthAfrica (7).JPG
The upper canyon as seen from Bourke's Luck at the Treur-Blyde confluence

At 200 metres (660 ft), the Kadishi Tufa waterfall is the second tallest tufa waterfall on earth. A tufa waterfall is formed when water running over dolomite rock absorbs calcium, and deposits rock formations more rapidly than they erode the surrounding rock. In the case of the Kadishi Tufa fall, the formation that has been produced strikingly resembles a face which is crying profusely, and is thus sometimes known as 'the weeping face of nature'.

Tourism

The Three Rondavels in the Blyde River Canyon The Three Rondavels, Blyde River Canyon.jpg
The Three Rondavels in the Blyde River Canyon

The canyon and the surrounding Drakensberg escarpment is a very popular tourist region with a well-developed tourism industry supported by good public infrastructure.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drakensberg</span> Mountain range in South Africa

The Drakensberg is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – 2,000 to 3,482 metres within the border region of South Africa and Lesotho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mpumalanga</span> Province of South Africa

Mpumalanga is a province of South Africa. 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 and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela. Mpumalanga was formed in 1994, when the area that was the Eastern Transvaal was merged with the former bantustans KaNgwane, KwaNdebele and parts of Lebowa and Gazankulu. Although the contemporary borders of the province were only formed at the end of apartheid, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balkan Mountains</span> Mountain range in the Balkan Peninsula

The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about 560 kilometres (350 mi), first in a south-easterly direction along the border, then eastward across Bulgaria, forming a natural barrier between the northern and southern halves of the country, before finally reaching the Black Sea at Cape Emine. The mountains reach their highest point with Botev Peak at 2,376 metres (7,795 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tufa</span> Porous limestone rock formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of ambient temperature water

Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine. Tufa is sometimes referred to as (meteogene) travertine. It should not be confused with hot spring (thermogene) travertine. Tufa, which is calcareous, should also not be confused with tuff, a porous volcanic rock with a similar etymology that is sometimes also called "tufa".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden</span> Zoo and botanical garden in Oklahoma City, United States

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is a zoo and botanical garden located in Oklahoma City's Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species Survival Plan</span>

The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature's Valley</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Nature's Valley is a holiday resort and small village on the Garden Route along the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Nature's Valley lies between the Salt River, the foothills of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, the Indian Ocean and the Groot River lagoon. Nature's Valley has a balmy climate and is surrounded by the de Vasselot Nature Reserve which is part of the Tsitsikamma Park, and in turn part of the Garden Route National Park.

The Treur River barb or simply Treur barb is a species of cyprinid fish. It is endemic to northern Mpumalanga, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin Falls</span> Waterfall in Mpumalanga, South Africa

The Berlin Falls is a waterfall in Mpumalanga, South Africa. They are located close to God's Window and the highest waterfall in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, Lisbon Falls. They are less than a tenth of the height of South Africa's tallest waterfall, the Tugela Falls, and are better known for their beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve</span> Biosphere reserve in South Africa

Blyde River Canyon 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 Ohrigstad and Blyde Rivers and the geological formations around Bourke's Luck Potholes, where the Treur River tumbles into the Blyde below. Southwards of the canyon, the reserve follows the escarpment, to include the Devil's and God's Window, the latter a popular viewpoint to the lowveld at the reserve's southern extremity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blyderivierpoort Dam</span> Dam in Mpumalanga

Blyderivierpoort Dam is a gravity-arch dam on the Blyde River, in the lower Blyde River Canyon, near Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It also floods the lower reaches of the Blyde's Ohrigstad River tributary. The dam was completed in 1974. The 71 m high dam wall and 22 m deep is situated 3 km from Swadini resort by road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blyde River</span> River in Mpumalanga & Limpopo, South Africa

The Motlatse River, Blyde River, or Umdhlazi River is a river in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. It has a northwards course in steep-sided valleys and ravines of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg, before it enters the lowveld region of the Limpopo province. It has its ultimate origins at around 2,000 m altitude in the Hartebeesvlakte conservation area, to the north of Long Tom Pass. It runs through the Blyde River Canyon.

The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region is a biosphere reserve situated in the north eastern region of South Africa, straddling Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. In 2001, under the supervision of the then Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region was officially ratified by UNESCO as part of the Man and the Biosphere (MaB) Programme. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme provides a framework for exploring local solutions to challenges by mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognizing their vital linkages within specific learning landscapes adjacent to Protected Areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hingol National Park</span> National park in Pakistan

Hingol National Park or Hungol National Park is the largest national park in Pakistan, located in the Makran coastal region. The park covers an area of about 6,100 square kilometres (2,400 sq mi) and is located 190 km from Karachi in the three districts of Gwadar, Lasbela and Awaran in Balochistan. Hingol was declared a national park in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisbon Falls (waterfall)</span> Waterfall in Mpumalanga, South Africa

The Lisbon Falls are falls in the Lisbon Creek, a right bank tributary of the Blyde River. They are situated a short distance north of Graskop beside the R532 road, and are the highest waterfalls in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The waterfalls are 94 metres (308 ft) high and were named for the Lisbon Creek and the Farm Lisbon, on which the falls are located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoom Torino</span>

Zoom Torino is a zoo and amusement park in Cumiana, near Turin, northern Italy, created in 2007. It covers 180,000 square metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panorama Route</span> Road in South Africa

The Panorama Route is a scenic road in South Africa connecting several cultural and natural points of interest. The route, steeped in the history of South Africa, is in Mpumalanga province, centred around the Blyde River Canyon, the world's third largest canyon. It features numerous waterfalls, one of the largest afforested areas in South Africa, and several natural landmarks. The route starts at the foot of the Long Tom Pass just outside Lydenburg, following the natural descent from the Great Escarpment to the Lowveld, and ending at the border of the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces near the Echo Caves.

Afroedura rondavelica, also known as the Blyde River flat gecko or rondavel rock gecko, is a species of African geckos, first found in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. Its specific and common name refers to the rondavel, a southern African hut-type structure.

References

  1. 1 2 Mpumalanga. "Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve". www.mpumalanga.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  2. Raven, B. W. "Water Affairs in the Lower Blyde River." The role of DWAF in local water (2004).
  3. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names" by RE Raper - HSRC
  4. "Blyde River Canyon is no more".