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Plateau Rim

150 km from the Indian Ocean, the southern African plateau drops away in a dramatic escarpment towards the sea. This feature, the Great Escarpment, appears clearly on this south-looking scene (arrows), dividing the High Veld at 1800 m (right) from the coastal lowlands of Natal Province (left). Muddy lakes Woodstock (1) and Spionkop ("Lookout hill," scene of a battle during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899)(2) hold backwater of South Africa's largest east coast river, the Tugela (3). Water from these lakes is pumped up and over a low point in the Escarpment to Sterkfontien Dam (4), providing a crucial new source of water for the rapidly expanding industrial heartland of South Africa, the Witwatersrand (200 km northwest). Next to a prominent flat-topped hill (5) lies the boom town of Harrismith, named for a British governor. (61C-50-0090)

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Western Extension of the Reef

The Reef is the name given to the 300 km-long series of gold mining towns on the central plateau of South Africa. Rectangular mine dumps of waste material from the westernmost gold mines of Klerksdorp and Orkney, are prominent (left center). The Afrikaans-language university town of Potchefstroom (1) is situated on the Mooi ("beautiful") River and the vacation town of Parys on the Vaal ("grey") River (2). The Vaal marks the boundary between the provinces of Transvaal (top)and Orange Free State (bottom): it is not clear why the latter shows significantly more soil erosion (light brown field patterns). (61A-39-84)

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