Stormberg Mountains
P1f1p3
The Storm Mountain ( Afrikaans, also Stormberg, English: Stormberg Mountains or Storm Mountain Range) are a mountain range in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. It belongs to the Great Escarpment and rises to nearly 2,200 meters above sea level.
Geography
The mountain range is located in the interior of the Eastern Cape Province. In a narrower sense, it is a mountain range which forms a part of the Great Escarpment at about 1500-2169 meters above sea level. But also the southern foothills of over 3,000 meters high Drakensberg be counted among the mountains Storm Occasionally.
The Storm mountains in the strict sense extend in a west-east direction over approximately 80 kilometers in north-south direction over 20 kilometers. The name means " mountain storm ". To the west of the mountain range is located in the Bamboesberg massif continues to the northeast it continues to rise and passes into the Drakensberg. The highest peak is 2,169 meters above sea level with east of the town of Molteno. The highest road pass is pass with 1844 meters of Penhoek. The mountain range is largely a plateau with individual mesas. The Storm Mountain River rises at Molteno and flows northward to the Oranje. The climate is semi-arid. In place Buffelsfontein in the Storm mountains, the lowest ever recorded in South Africa outside temperature was registered with -20.1 ° C.
After the mountain range named the junction station Stormberg Junction, which is located north of the town of Molteno. Dordrecht is located in the eastern part of the mountain range. North of the Storm Mountains lies the town of Jamestown, situated immediately south Sterkstroom.
Geology
After the Storm Mountains, the geological formation Stormberg Group is named, which extends to the north of Lesotho. The formation - and thus the Storm Mountains - consists of sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstone, and was incurred prior to around 230 bis 183 million. He is the only formation in the Cape region, which has significant reserves of hard coal.
History
Mid-1850s has been in the mountains for the first time Storm coal found for their removal from the infrastructure of the area has been expanded, including through the establishment of the city Molteno and the construction of several rail lines. Stormberg Junction was occupied for strategic reasons before the start of the Second Boer War by the British troops. Near the train station, the opposing Boer won on 10 December 1899, the Battle of Stormberg.
The former Transkei homeland had its westernmost point in the Storm mountains.
Economy and infrastructure
In Molteno coal mining activity.
In north -south trunk road N6 runs over the Penhoek 's Pass through the mountains. The R 56 is transverse to the Storm Mountain. Tourist Storm Mountain route from Molteno about Dordrecht and continue through the foothills of the Drakensberg on Barkly East and Rhodes to Aliwal North.
An important railway connects Bloemfontein and East London. She performs Stormberg Junction, Molteno and Sterkstroom. From Stormberg Junction, a track leads westward to Middelburg, another route connects with Sterkstroom Dordrecht and continues eastward to Maclear.