Highveld | |
|---|---|
Natural region | |
 Highveld in winter inGauteng Province north ofJohannesburg | |
 A map of South Africa showing the central plateau edged by the Great Escarpment and its relationship to the Highveld andLesotho Highlands: The portion of theGreat Escarpment shown in red is officially known as theDrakensberg, although most South Africans think of the Drakensberg as only that portion of the escarpment which forms the border betweenKwaZulu-Natal andLesotho. Here, the escarpment rises to its greatest height, over 3000 m. | |
| Country | South Africa Lesotho |
| Area | |
• Total | 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi) |
TheHighveld (Afrikaans:Hoëveld,pronounced[ˈɦuəfælt],lit. 'High Field') is the portion of theSouth African inlandplateau which has an altitude above roughly 1,500 m (4,900 ft), but below 2,100 m (6,900 ft), thus excluding theLesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country's most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially theGautengconurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa's population.
The Highveld constitutes almost all of the provinces ofFree State andGauteng and portions of the surrounding areas: the western rim of Lesotho and portions of theEastern Cape,Northern Cape,North West,Limpopo, andMpumalanga provinces of South Africa.[1] The highest part of the Highveld, around 2,100 m (6,900 ft), is its northeastern well-defined boundary, where the plateau escarpment (the MpumalangaDrakensberg) separates it from the MpumalangaLowveld, (containing, amongst others, theKruger National Park).[2] Another well defined boundary is to its north where theMagaliesberg separates the Highveld from the Bushveld. The continuation of theGreat Escarpment to the south separates the Highveld from KwaZulu-Natal.[3] The south-eastern portion of the Great Escarpment (that portion of the Great Escarpment most commonly referred to astheDrakensberg) rises to over 3000 m and forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The latter mountainous region is, however, not generally referred to as Highveld, whose boundary at this point runs just inside the Lesotho-Free State border, about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). From its eastern boundary, the Highveld slopes gently downwards to be bounded by theGreat Karoo to the south, theKalahari desert to the west, theBushveld to the north, the Mpumalanga Lowveld to the northeast, KwaZulu-Natal to the east, and theLesotho Highlands, or Mountains, to the southeast.[3] The Highveld covers an area of almost 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi), or roughly 30% of South Africa's land area.
The Highveld terrain is generally devoid of mountains, consisting of rolling plains, especially in the Free State, sometimes interrupted by rocky ridges such as theWitwatersrand, theMagaliesberg, andVredefort Dome. TheVaal River and its tributaries form the main water drainage system of the Highveld. Tributaries of theOrange River drain the most southerly regions of the Highveld.
The Highveldrainy season occurs in summer, with substantial afternoon thunderstorms being typical occurrences in November, December, and January. Frost occurs in winter.
Cities located on the Highveld includeJohannesburg,Pretoria,Bloemfontein,Vereeniging,Welkom,Carletonville, and the cities of theWest Rand andEast Rand. The diamond-mining city ofKimberley lies on the border of the Highveld and the southeastern Kalahari.
About half of thegold ever produced in the world has been mined on the Highveld since 1880. The largest deposits are located in the Witwatersrand, which centres on Johannesburg, with smaller deposits in the northern Free State near Welkom andVirginia. The Highveld is also exceedingly rich indiamonds,coal,vanadium, andmanganese.
The pollution in this region is also very high principally due to coalthermal power stations producingnitrogen oxide andsulfur dioxide.[4][5]
Agriculture on the Highveld is generally dominated by extensivegrain production and the grazing ofbeef cattle, with more intensive production ofmaize,wheat,sorghum,citrus fruits,groundnuts,sunflowers, andvegetables, occurring in irrigated areas and farmland closer to urban areas. The peat base of thegrassland acts as a natural filter, providing sources of clean water.
Naturally occurring vegetation in the Highveld consists of different types of well-establishedgrassland depending on the varying amounts of rainfall across the area: subtropical and temperategrassland, with truesavannah not dominating the ecosystem until more tropical latitudes. The major grass species areHyparrhenia hirta andSporobolus pyramidalis and among these are other grasses and herbs. Trees and shrubs never thrived due to the frequent fires that occurred in the dry season and the heavy grazing (once by wild animals and now bylivestock).
The Highveld is home to a number of endangered animals, includingstraw-coloured fruit bats; Africa's largest snake, the African rock python (Python sebae);mountain zebras; and South Africa's national bird, theblue crane (Anthropoides paradiseus). The only endemic bird species isBotha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris) and the two endemic mammals – theFree State pygmy mouse (Mus orangiae) and therough-haired golden mole (Chrysospalax villosa). As well as the python, other reptiles include theNile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus),Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus), rock monitor (Varanus albigularis), andgiant girdled lizard or sungazer (Smaug giganteus).
Like many other areas of grassland all over the world, the Highveld is excellent agricultural land and most of the area has been converted for farming. The grassland areas now remaining in the natural state are in various nature reserves, which, although a small portion of the Highveld, are still the largest areas of remaininggrassland in South Africa. The protected areas includeSuikerbosrand Nature Reserve,[6]Verloren Valei Nature Reserve,Nooitgedacht Dam Nature Reserve,Bronkhorstspruit Dam Nature Reserve,Vaal Dam Nature Reserve, andKoppies Dam Nature Reserves andWillem Pretorius Game Reserve.[7]
