Mont-Aux-Sources
Encyclopedia
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, forming one of the highest portions of the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
. A sheer wall of 1,000 vertical ft., known as the Sentinel, can be found here. A basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
plateau which lies at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,050 m), it is mostly within Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/390359/Mont-aux-Sources
Mont-Aux Sources was so named by the French missionaries who visited the region in 1836. The highest point itself is an uninteresting peak 7 km from the Drakensberg escarpment and attains an altitude of 3,282 m.
The mountain is the source for three major rivers, (hence the name Mont-aux-Sources), the Tugela
Tugela
Tugela is a brown Thoroughbred mare. Bred by Khalid Abdullah's prominent Juddmonte Farms. Tugela was sired by Riverman and out of Rambushka who in turn was a daughter of Epsom Derby winner, Roberto, a two-time Leading sire in France.Tugela is best known as the dam of Makybe Diva , the champion...
, Vaal River
Vaal River
The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
[The Vaal river does not rise here - but some 400km east near Ermelo]and Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
. The Vaal River flows north and eventually into the Orange River, which in turn flows into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
on the West coast of Southern Africa, whilst the Tugela River flows into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
on the East coast of the subcontinent. 7 km from the source, the Tugela plunges
Tugela Falls
Tugela Falls is the world's second highest waterfall. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is . They are located in the Drakensberg in the Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. They are easily viewed after a heavy rain from the main travel road into...
947 m in a series of falls in the Royal Natal Drakensberg Park. This is the second highest series of falls in the world.
The peak is accessible from the Sentinel Car Park near Witsieshoek, via chain ladders.