Swartberg Pass
Encyclopedia
Swartberg
The Swartberg mountains make up a mountain range that runs roughly east-west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa...
(black mountain in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
) which are a mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
that runs roughly east-west along the northern edge of the semi-arid area called the Little Karoo in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
The Swartberg is amongst the best exposed fold mountain chains in the world, and the pass slices through magnificently scenic geological formations . To the north of the range lies the other large semi-arid area in South Africa, the Great Karoo. Much of the Swartberg is part of a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
It was built using convict labour by Thomas Bain
Thomas Charles John Bain
Thomas Charles John Bain was a South African road engineer, the son of Andrew Geddes Bain, also a road engineer in South Africa.-Biography:...
and opened on January 10, 1888. The drystone work supporting some of its picturesque hairpin bends
Hairpin turn
A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...
is particularly noteworthy.
The pass runs between Oudtshoorn in the south and Prince Albert in the north. The pass is not tarred and can be a little treacherous after rain, but offers spectacular views over the Little Karoo to the south and the Great Karoo to the north. The plant life along the pass is very interesting, many hundreds of species being found on the Swartberg .
The Swartberg pass was built between 1881 and 1888 by Thomas Bain
Thomas Charles John Bain
Thomas Charles John Bain was a South African road engineer, the son of Andrew Geddes Bain, also a road engineer in South Africa.-Biography:...
, son of the famous Andrew Geddes Bain
Andrew Geddes Bain
Andrew Geddes Bain , South African geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer.-Life history:...
who built Bain's Kloof Pass and many more. The dry-stone retaining walls are still in place and almost 120 years old.
The top of the pass is at 33°21′8"S 22°2′45"E.
The pass is especially famous due to the spectacular geology that is exposed at its Northern end. The contortions in the rock display astonishing anticlines and synclines, and the vivid coloration of the surrounding Quartzite is remarkable. At the Northern end of the pass seven hundred metre high quartzite cliffs of the upper Table Mountain Group can be seen, and these are often tilted through 90 degrees (sometimes even more) . Arguably the most famous of all these cliff faces is the spectacular 'Wall of Fire
Wall of Fire
Wall of Fire may refer to:* Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire, the fourth game in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series* The Wall of Fire , the traumatic memories associated with Incident II in Scientology...
'.