Drakensberg’s big brother

The first thing that really struck me about the Simen escarpment in Ethiopia was how similar it is to our own Drakensberg escarpment in South Africa. From a many perspectives they are almost identical. Consider these parallels:

Both are remnants of enormous lava flows that created a high lying plateau, which drops off suddenly and dramatically on its northern end.

In both cases the lava type is basalt, a particularly friable end easily eroded igneous material.

Both the Simen and the Drakensberg basalt cap a sedimentary layer of sandstone, with a mini plateau forming where the sedimentary layer and the basalt layers meet, as the basalt erodes faster.

The Simen escarpment is offset to the Great Rift Valley, being about 500 kilometres to the east of the valley’s most northerly point, before it joins the Red Sea Rift.

The Drakensberg lies to the southern most extreme of the Rift Valley, about 1500 kilometres south of the Makadikadi pans and 500 kilometres south of the Lembombo Mountains.

Both have forested slopes on the steep walls of the escarpment, with alpine gardens above the lip. Being closer to the equator, the Simen have a range of lobelia species, similar to the ones found on Mount Elgon, Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. The Drakensberg, although perhaps more stark on top of the escarpment (being closer to the poles), also has a variety of ancient and rare plant species, including fern forests and the giant Cycad.

Noticeably, the Simen are higher, rising to 4543 metres (Mount Ras Dashen, a gentle sloped peak some distance from the escarpment) in comparison to Thabana Ntlenyana (3482m), a similar shaped mountain set away from the Drakensberg escarpment.

When I arrived at the Simen escarpment I was amazed to see a break off peak that looked very similar to Cathedral Peak. Seeing is believing so have a look for yourself. The escarpment is as pronounced as the Natal Drakensberg and as spectacular, with drop offs like the Geech Abyss dropping away for hundreds of metres, often in an overhanging fashion, similar to the Amphitheatre in Royal Natal National Park.

Since my visit I have asked a number of people, including geologists about the two ranges and their possible relationship. I read once that the Drakensberg was one of the last remnants of the super continent of Gondwanaland, so perhaps the ranges were one mass, or perhaps they both formed as Africa broke away.

Unfortunately, to date, no one can give me an informative answer, so if you know any more on the subject, I’ll like to hear it. Email us at info@superclimb.co.za. Also vote on our pole this month!