Witwatersrand

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Waterfall in the Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens

Witwatersrand is a ridge in the provinces of Gauteng, Northwest and Mpumalanga in South Africa. These provinces are part of the former Transvaal. The landscape designation means a " ridge of white water " in which a description of the natural terrain level is associated with waterfalls expressed.

Although the 200 -kilometer-long mountain range rises to 1,779 meters above sea level, it towers over the surrounding landscapes only up to 300 meters. They divided it into a Western ( western edge ), a middle (Central Rand) to Johannesburg and an eastern part ( East Rand). He is part of the continental divide between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

A dense population along the Witwatersrand, of Randfontein via Johannesburg to Springs, was created by the 1886 -down in gear gold mining. There is also the largest known gold soap.

Often, the metropolitan region around Pretoria and Johannesburg is briefly referred to as the Witwatersrand, in reference to Pretoria - Witwatersrand - Vereeniging ( PWV, originally the name of the province of Gauteng).

After the ridge the Witwatersrand University received its name.

The currency of South Africa, the rand, has been named after this region, as larger gold discoveries translated here an intensive mining industry in transition.