Soutpansberg

Coordinates: 23°0′0″S 29°52′0″E / 23.00000°S 29.86667°E / -23.00000; 29.86667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the former administrative district, see Zoutpansberg.
Soutpansberg
Vivo, 10 km from the salt pan
Highest point
PeakLajuma
Elevation1,747 m (5,732 ft)
ListingMountain ranges of South Africa
Coordinates23°0′0″S 29°52′0″E / 23.00000°S 29.86667°E / -23.00000; 29.86667
Dimensions
Length170 km (110 mi) E/W
Width50 km (31 mi) N/S
Naming
Native nameTha vhani ya muno (Venda)
Geography
Country
Bushveld igneous complex, sandstone

The Soutpansberg (formerly Zoutpansberg), meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a range of mountains in far northern South Africa. It is located in Vhembe District, Limpopo. It is named for the salt pan (Venda: Thavha ya muno, or "place of salt")[1] located at its western end. The mountain range reaches the opposite extremity[2] in the Matikwa Nature Reserve, some 107 kilometres (66 mi) due east. The range as a whole had no Venda name, as it was instead known by its sub-ranges which include Dzanani, Songozwi and others.[3]

The Soutpansberg forms part of the 'Vhembe Biosphere Reserve', which was designated as a

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape.[5]

Geography

The mountain is intersected by two defiles, the Waterpoort in the west, containing the Sand River (Polokwane) and a railway line, and Wyllie's Poort, which allows N1 road traffic to pass from Louis Trichardt to Musina. Lajuma is the highest peak at 1,747 metres (5,732 ft). The Nzhelele River and its tributary the Mutamba, the Nwanedi River and its tributary the Luphephe River, as well as the Levubu River and its main tributaries, the Mutshindudi and Mutale Rivers, and the Letaba River rise in the slopes of the Soutpansberg Mountains. The Brak River, a tributary of the Sand River, flows diagonally at the western end of the Soutpansberg, separating it from the Blouberg further west.[6]

History

First Europeans

The first white person to reach, and name, the mountain was

voortrekker Louis Tregardt who sojourned at the salt pan from May to August 1836. In November 1836 Tregardt moved camp to the vicinity of the later Schoemansdal and Louis Trichardt
town, where he stayed until June 1837. From June to August 1837 Tregardt's party camped at the Doorn River, on the current Doorn River farm, whereafter they departed for good to find a trading route to the sea.

Early settlement

Hanglip promontory, overlooking Louis Trichardt

Eleven years later, in 1848,

Andries Potgieter's trek. Potgieter died at Zoutpansbergdorp in 1852, and his son shortly afterwards. In 1855 the town's de facto leader was Stephanus Schoeman[8] who named the growing, though disorderly reed-hut settlement Schoemansdal, after himself. Augmented by renegades, the town was a successful ivory trading
centre by 1855, when its population numbered 200.

Pietersburg
. An open-air museum was established to recreate the modest settlement.

First town

In October 1898 the

Boere returned to regain control over the territory. General Piet Joubert's commando occupied a strategic position over the Doorn River in preparation. In November, Mphefu's kraal suffered a three-pronged attack and his royal village was torched. Mphefu's clan fled across the Limpopo River to Zimbabwe. The farms Rietvlei and Bergvliet were set aside in 1898 for a new town, and Trichardtsdorp was proclaimed the next year, named in honour of Louis Tregardt. Today the town commemorates his full name, Louis Trichardt.[9][10]

Ecology

Composite image of landscapes from the Southern Soutpansberg.
Composite image of landscape photographs from the Southern Soutpansberg.

Plant diversity

Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 vascular plant taxa, comprising 1,066 genera and 240 families are known to occur in the mountain.[11] A species list from plots done at the Mutshidudi catchment area revealed 109 plant families, 397 genera and 619 species.[12] 24 plant species are endemic to the mountain, and an additional 33 to the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. 594 species of tree are native to the mountain or its direct vicinity.[13] The Soutpansberg's immense floristic diversity can be attributed to several distinct floristic elements acting on it, namely Tropical, Moçambique coastal,

Lowveld, Afromontane, Bushveld, Waterberg, Kalahari and Limpopo Valley.[11] Approximately 10% of Soutpansberg plants can be considered succulent, and 32% of the endemic flora can be regarded as succulents.[11]

Of the mountain's endemic flora, the

Zoutpansbergia is the only endemic genus.[14] The floral endemics include Encephalartos hirsutus, Duvalia procumbens, Euphorbia rowlandii, E. aeruginosa, E. zoutpansbergensis, Ceratotheca saxicola, Stapelia clavicorona, Tylophora coddii, Huernia nouhuysii, Aloe angelica, A. petrophila, A. soutpansbergensis, A. vossii, Combretum vendae, Blepharis spinipes, Mystacidium braybonae, Justicia montis-salinarum, Khadia borealis, Orbeanthus conjunctus, Streptocarpus parviflorus subsp. soutpansbergensis, Searsia magalismontana subsp. coddii, Vangueria soutpansbergensis and Pavetta tschikonderi
.

The tropical floristic element, which reaches its southern distribution within the Soutpansberg, accounts for the species

Oxytenanthera abyssinica, Trilepisium madagascariense, Brachystegia utilis-torrei (assimilated into a dominant B. spiciformis genome) and Syzygium masukuense. These species are not associated with the central Zimbabwean Miombo floristic element, but rather with the Eastern Highlands floristic element, and particularly its foothills.[15]

Reptile diversity

A total of at least 116 reptile species have been recorded in the Soutpansberg. This biodiversity is remarkably high for such a small area and makes up 36% of the total number of reptile species that have been recorded in South Africa. This is roughly the same number of species (119) that occur in the Kruger National Park. The diversity is high compared to biodiversity hotspots of the world and the species diversity per unit area is higher than that of most of these hotspots. The Soutpansberg rock lizard, Soutpansberg worm lizard, Soutpansberg dwarf gecko and the Soutpansberg flat lizard are all endemic and named after this range.[16]

Invertebrates

The Soutpansberg is known for a high level of endemism of its invertebrate fauna.[17][18]

Conservation

Hikers in the central Soutpansberg

In today’s world, natural areas are under a lot of pressure from human activity. Exploitation of natural resources, human encroachment due to expanding developments, poaching and general pollution – these all affect the Soutpansberg in some way.[19] At the moment the mountains are a World Heritage Site and they form part of the newly proclaimed Vhembe Biosphere reserve.[20][21]

Gallery

Organisms endemic to the Soutpansberg

  • Searsia magalismontana subsp. coddii
    Searsia magalismontana subsp. coddii
  • Soutpansberg rock lizard, Vhembelacerta rupicola
    Soutpansberg rock lizard, Vhembelacerta rupicola
  • A male Soutpansberg flat lizard, Platysaurus relictus
    A male Soutpansberg flat lizard, Platysaurus relictus
  • The endemic Soutpansberg worm lizard, Chirindia langi subsp. occidentalis
    The endemic Soutpansberg worm lizard, Chirindia langi subsp. occidentalis
  • Lygodactylus ocellatus soutpansbergensis, a gecko endemic to the Soutpansberg
    Lygodactylus ocellatus soutpansbergensis, a gecko endemic to the Soutpansberg
  • Hadogenes soutpansbergensis, a scorpion endemic to the Soutpansberg
    Hadogenes soutpansbergensis, a scorpion endemic to the Soutpansberg
  • Opistophthalmus lawrencei, a scorpion endemic to the Soutpansberg
    Opistophthalmus lawrencei, a scorpion endemic to the Soutpansberg
  • Soutpansberg dung beetle, Scarabaeus schulzeae, a Soutpansberg endemic
    Soutpansberg dung beetle, Scarabaeus schulzeae, a Soutpansberg endemic

See also

Notes

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

  1. ^ Located at 22°58′S 29°20′E / 22.967°S 29.333°E / -22.967; 29.333 (Salt Pan, Soutpansberg)
  2. ^ Located at 22°58′S 30°20′E / 22.967°S 30.333°E / -22.967; 30.333 (Matikwa Nature Reserve, Soutpansberg)
  3. ISBN 9780549518686.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  4. ^ "Vhembe Region named UNESCO's Biosphere Reserve". Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  5. ^ UNESCO - Biosphere Reserve Information. Accessed 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ The Soutpansberg
  7. ^
    ISBN 1-85532-612-4
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 1-77007-303-5
    .
  9. ^ Tempelhoff, Elise (12 November 2014). "Makhado? Nee, dis weer Louis Trichardt". Beeld. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  10. ^ Louw-Carstens, Marietie (17 November 2014). "Raadslede lus vir veg oor 'Louis Trichardt'". Beeld. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  11. ^ a b c Hahn, Norbert. "Botanical diversity". Soutpansberg Web Site. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  12. ^ Hahn, Norbert. "Vegetation". Soutpansberg Web Site. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  13. ^ van Zyl, Andries (29 January 2016). "Newly described endemic tree for Soutpansberg". Zoutpansberger. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  14. ^ Hahn, Norbert. "Endemic Flora". Soutpansberg Web Site. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  15. ^ Hahn, Norbert. "Brachystegia Home Page". Soutpansberg Web Site. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  16. ^ I. G. Gaigher, Lajuma Research and Environmental Education Centre, http://www.soutpansberg.com/workshop/synthesis/reptiles.htm
  17. doi:10.5733/afin.049.0206
    .
  18. doi:10.5733/afin.050.0204
    .
  19. PMID 28484625
    .
  20. ^ "Vhembe Biosphere Reserve | Limpopo".
  21. ^ "Soutpansberg Mountains – A Sanctuary for Endemism and Biodiversity". 17 April 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soutpansberg.
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