Pilanesberg National Park

Pilanesberg Game Reserve Pilanesberg National Park
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location in North West province
Location	Pilanesberg, North West Province, South Africa
Nearest city	Sun City, South Africa
Coordinates	25°15′40″S 27°06′03″E / 25.26111°S 27.10083°E / -25.26111; 27.10083Coordinates: 25°15′40″S 27°06′03″E / 25.26111°S 27.10083°E / -25.26111; 27.10083
Area	572 km2 (221 sq mi)
Established	1979
Governing body	North West Parks Board

The Pilanesberg Game Reserve is located in North West Province in South Africa, west of Pretoria. The park borders with the entertainment complex Sun City. The park is currently administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board.

The area is fringed by three concentric ridges or rings of hills, of which the formation rises from the surrounding plains. Pilanesberg is named after a Tswana chief, Pilane, the 'Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex' is the park's primary geological feature. This vast circular geological feature is ancient even by geological standards as it is the crater of a long extinct volcano and the result of eruptions some 1,200 million years ago. It is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its type in the world, the rare rock types and formations make it a unique geological feature. A number of rare minerals occur in the park. Pilanesberg Game Reserve rates high amongst the world's outstanding geological phenomena

Scattered throughout the park are various sites that originate from the Iron Age and Stone Age and show the presence of man from those periods in these areas.

The park has an area of 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi). One can travel through in a standard road vehicle as although most of the 188 kilometres of track are not surfaced, they are well maintained. The three main tarred roads are named Kgabo, Kubu and Tswene. There are several camps serving the park from the outside, such as Bagatla and Manyane. Several lodges are situated within the park itself. For the day visitors there are several stops on the inside where there are bars and gift shops. Towards the centre of the park there is an artificially constructed lake, the Mankwe Dam, and Thabayadiotso, which means "the Proud Mountain".

The scenic terrain lies in the transition zone between Kalahari and Lowveld, and both types of vegetation are found here. As a result of the park being on a transition zone there are overlaps in mammals, birds and vegetation. Today, Pilanesberg Game Reserve accommodates almost every large mammal of southern Africa.