Mariepskop

Mariepskop (also Marepe or Maripekop), at 1,945 m above sea level, is one of the highest peaks in the northern Drakensberg, and the highest point of the Blyde River Canyon, South Africa. It is situated at the junction of three conservation areas, namely the Mariepskop Forest Reserve, Mariepskop State Forest, and the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. The mountain is bordered by sheer cliff faces on several sides, and is composed of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Transvaal Supergroup. It is named for the 19th century Pulana chief, Maripe Mashile, whose tribe used the mountain as a stronghold. Some infrastructure and roads were built in the 1950s to service a military radar station. Mariepskop is flanked by Tshwateng (1,628 m) at the opposite side of the Blyde River, and by Hebronberg (1,767 m) in the south.

The mountain is composed of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks, namely quartzite, shale and dolomite of the Transvaal Supergroup. The plateau consists of resistant Black Reef Quartzite which rests on quartzite and shale of the Wolkberg Group, with a granite-gneiss layer forming the base.

The Mfecane disturbances of the 19th century were responsible for the settlement of the escarpment region by fragments of Sotho-speaking tribes, who once lived on the highveld.Bakwena chief Kowyn settled on the Graskop escarpment, and the Mapanjams settled in wretched circumstances in the lowveld. Everywhere south of the Olifants River, these refugees were harried and looted by the Swazi raiding parties of Mswati II.

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