The Sandton field book: A guide to the natural history of the northern Witwatersrand - Softcover

CARRUTHERS, Vincent (ed)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0620059028 ISBN 13: 9780620059022

Publisher: Sandton Nature Conservation Society, 1982

Synopsis

The Witwatersrand (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a 56-kilometre-long (35 mi), north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which account for the name Witwatersrand, meaning "ridge of white waters" in Afrikaans. The Witwatersrand plateau forms a continental divide, with the run-off to the north draining into the Indian Ocean via the Crocodile and Limpopo rivers, while the run-off to the south drains via the Vaal into the Orange River and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the extraordinary quantities of gold that have been extracted from the Witwatersrand rocks, the South African currency was named the rand in 1961 upon the declaration of the republic. While the Northern Witwatersrand used to be farmland, it made a rapid transition to suburbs of over half a million people making the protection of its natural elements all the more important.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sandton Nature Conservation Society
• Publication date: 1982
• ISBN 10: 0620059028
• ISBN 13: 9780620059022
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 230