Balele Mountains

Balele Mountains
Balele Mountains
(Balelesberg / Belelasberg)
	Balele Mountains rising behind Utrecht
Highest point
Peak	Vaalkop
Elevation	1,845 m (6,053 ft)
Listing	List of mountain ranges of South Africa
Coordinates	27.5453°S 30.1392°E
Geography
	Balele Mountains
Country	South Africa
Geology
Type of rock	dolerite

The Balele Mountains (Balelesberg or sometimes Belelasberg in Afrikaans) are a mountain massif largely located in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.

Geography

The Balele Mountains stretch north of the town of Utrecht, which lies at their foot, south-east of Wakkerstroom and Volksrust (in Mpumalanga), and north-east of the Newcastle region. Vaalkop is the highest point.[1]

Geology

As on the eastern slopes of the Drakensberg, the dolerite dominates the collapsing cliffs of the Balele Mountains.[2]

History

Early in the 20th century, the Utrecht Collieries Company began mining coal in the Balele Mountains. In 1906, the governor of Natal decided to build a railway line between Utrecht and Newcastle. The line was inaugurated in 1910 by the then governor Lord Methuen.[3]

References

G. W. Begg, The Wetlands of Natal, 1989, p.84
Amajuba District Municipality Environnemental Management Framework Amajuba District Municipality Environnemental Management Framework - Draft Status Quo Report, p.XIV
"PART 13 The Natal Main Line – from north of Ladysmith to Charlestown on the Transvaal border - including the branch to Utrecht from Newcastle compiled by Les Pivnic and Bruno Martin. © - Soul of A Railway". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.

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[1] G. W. Begg, The Wetlands of Natal, 1989, p.84

[2] Amajuba District Municipality Environnemental Management Framework Amajuba District Municipality Environnemental Management Framework - Draft Status Quo Report, p.XIV

[google-3] "PART 13 The Natal Main Line – from north of Ladysmith to Charlestown on the Transvaal border - including the branch to Utrecht from Newcastle compiled by Les Pivnic and Bruno Martin. © - Soul of A Railway". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.