From 100th century BCE
Southern Africa
The Great Escarpment is a major elevated rim produced by uplift, marginal warping, and headward erosion in southern Africa. It extends from northern Angola toward the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border and marks the edge of the elevated interior plateau. Its formation reflects the response of the African landmass to regional uplift and changing drainage levels rather than to a single mountain-building episode.
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The Story
Regional uplift in southern Africa was accompanied by marginal downwarping and by the development of a major escarpment. The zone of maximum uplift lies roughly 300 kilometres from the coast, where streams adjusted to new base levels and progressively eroded headward. This process produced a conspicuous elevated rim around much of the subcontinent.
The Great Escarpment extends from northern Angola southward and eastward toward the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border. It borders the great interior plateau of southern Africa, whose elevation reflects the same regional uplift. The Kalahari–Cubango basin lagged behind the surrounding rim and became filled with debris derived from it.
The escarpment is not simply a folded mountain chain. It is a geomorphic product of uplift, warping, drainage adjustment, erosion, and the differential response of basins and plateaux. In East Africa, comparable effects of uplift are obscured by the superimposed influence of rifting and volcanism.
From 100th century BCE
Southern Africa
The Great Escarpment is a major elevated rim produced by uplift, marginal warping, and headward erosion in southern Africa. It extends from northern Angola toward the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border and marks the edge of the elevated interior plateau. Its formation reflects the response of the African landmass to regional uplift and changing drainage levels rather than to a single mountain-building episode.
Continue exploring
The Story
Regional uplift in southern Africa was accompanied by marginal downwarping and by the development of a major escarpment. The zone of maximum uplift lies roughly 300 kilometres from the coast, where streams adjusted to new base levels and progressively eroded headward. This process produced a conspicuous elevated rim around much of the subcontinent.
The Great Escarpment extends from northern Angola southward and eastward toward the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border. It borders the great interior plateau of southern Africa, whose elevation reflects the same regional uplift. The Kalahari–Cubango basin lagged behind the surrounding rim and became filled with debris derived from it.
The escarpment is not simply a folded mountain chain. It is a geomorphic product of uplift, warping, drainage adjustment, erosion, and the differential response of basins and plateaux. In East Africa, comparable effects of uplift are obscured by the superimposed influence of rifting and volcanism.