T
his book attempts to synthesise much of what I have come to learn and understand
about the West Coast over the past twenty-odd years that I have lived here and
been involved in doing research with colleagues and students. I have interacted with
many people, both locally and those visiting from elsewhere, and from all of them I have
learned a great deal. In particular, I owe special thanks to the students I have had the
pleasure of interacting with over the years at the University of Cape Town, and it is to
my past students that I dedicate this book. I have taken many undergraduates on field
trips to the West Coast and I have supervised Honours (fourth-year) student projects,
post-graduate (Masters and doctoral students) and postdocs. Although these students
are too numerous to list, many appear as co-authors on publications in the bibliography.
These fi eld trips an d re search projects were ma de po ssible by th e Un iversity of Cape
Town, which provided the institutional support and facilities for exploring and learning
about the West Coast. Financial support provided to students and their research projects
is gratefully acknowledged from the National Research Foundation and the University
of Cape Town. I thank the staff of the West Coast National Park, particularly Pierre Nel,
and I thank Pippa Haarhoff and the staff of the West Coast Fossil Park for their support
and assistance throughout the years. The City of Cape Town, Cape Nature, Council for
Geoscience (Bellville office, Marine Geosciences Unit) and the National
Geo-Informa-tion (Trig Survey) office in Mowbray provided valuable resources.
I thank the many friends, students and colleagues who provided valuable feedback
on this book. I was first introduced to the West Coast by John Rogers in March 1995,
and he has always been a rich source of information. I am grateful to the following for
permission to use their photographs and illustrations: Balcarres Heritage Trust,
Stefan Bengtson, Ian Brumfitt, Ross Compton, ComputaMaps (Justin Hyland),
Guiliana Franceschini,
Melody Fynn, Magnus Haaland, Trevor Hardaker,
Christopher Henshilwood, Andy Herries, Phil Janney ( John Gurney's photo), Alex
Kisters, Anton le Roex, Mac MacHutchon, Joselyn Mormile, Ted Scambos, Matt
Stow, Pierre-Jean Texier, Jean Tresfon, Joré and Chris von Holdt, and Bernard
Wooding (my apologies to anyone I may have forgotten!). Finally, I owe a very special
thanks to my wife, Lisa, for joining me on many West Coast outings and in reading the
many drafts and for always providing invaluable feedback on all aspects of the book.
Preface and Chapter 1
Google Earth (insert: NASA). NASA (3 April 2016). ComputaMaps (topography);
Willem de Wet (2013) UCT thesis (hdl.handle. net/11427/28970) (bathymetry);
NOAA (insert: ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/bathymetry/ relief.html).
Council for Geoscience (million-scale geological map of South Africa).
Based on figures in McCarthy and Rubidge (2005). Based on Kisters and Belcher (2018).
Cloudina photo from Stefan Bengtson
(Bengtson and Zhao, 2002). Kisters and others (2015). Google Earth (right).
Playfair and Hall (1813) (right sketch); Lyell (1833) (lower sketch).
Based on Gray and others (2008). Joachim Huber (flickr).
Based on Backeberg and others (2011) (left); MacHutchon and others (2020) (centre). Julie Anne Workman (wikipedia). Based on Jungslager (1999). Refer to Fig. 3.
Google Earth (base image). NASA/JPL/NIMA.
Based on Fig. 4.7 in T.F. Mulabisana (2016) thesis, University of the Witwatersrand (hdl.handle.net/10539/21006). Compton (2004: Fig. 11). Compton (2016:164). Refer to Fig. 3.
Based on Hoernle and others (2015); map from NOAA (refer to Fig. 3).
NASA (21 Sept. 2005).
seos-project.eu (noc.ac.uk; 3 Feb. 2008). Adelana and others (2010: Fig. 5); rainfall and temperature data from Cape Town Airport station, 1933–2006. Ventusky.com (wind speed 10 m above ground; 14 Nov. 2019);
MacHutchon and others (2020) (wind insert). NASA (25 Sept. 2019).
Compton (2011: Fig. 4).
Rainfall data from NOAA's Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN), posted on: diymetanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/ example-06-cape-town-rainfall/.
Based on Compton (2004: Fig. 73). Google Earth.
NASA/JPL (27 April 2000). Google Earth and MacHutchon and others (2020) (right).
Jacques Descloitres (NASA) (7 Nov. 2002); mudbelt overlay based on Herbert and Compton (2007).
Guiliana Franceschini (bottom left). Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (lower left);
Franceschini and Compton (2006) (right). Compton (2004: Fig. 58).
Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (bottom). West Coast National Park. Joré von Holdt.
Compton (2001; 2004; 2006). John Gurney photo collection. Melody Fynn (left).
Kolmanskop museum.
Illustration credits
The source of figures that are not the work of the author are listed below. I am grateful to those who have made their work available in the public domain and through creative commons licenses (creativecommons.org/licenses) on wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org) and flickr (flickr.com). Full references are given in the Bibliography.
Chapter 2
NASA/NOAA.
Weeks and others (2004). Jean Tresfon.
Compton and Bergh (2016). Jean Tresfon (left). Asja Radja (wikipedia) (left); Eric McKenzie (padil.gov.au) (centre). Benjamin Gadet (inquisitiverockhopper. wordpress.com/2015/05/31) (right). Google Earth (19 Nov. 2018). Arikk (wikipedia) (right).
Winfried Bruenken (wikipedia) (left); Dwergenpaartje (wikipedia) (centre left); Charles Hopkins (ispotnature.org) (centre right). LBM1948 (wikipedia).
Mezzotint by W. Ward after oil painting by H.W. Pickersgill (Museum Africa) (left); lithograph by G.H. Ford of Indian ink wash drawing by John Herschel (Sept. 1834) (National Library) (centre); portrait by George Richmond (Darwin Museum, Down House) (right). darwin–online.org.uk.
Drawings of gomphothere and bear by Cedric Hunter (West Coast Fossil Park); drawing in upper left by Ian Brumfitt (Brumfitt and others, 2013). Ryan Somma (wikipedia) (top right).
Compton (2016:170). Lydekker (1898) (centre);
wiki/File:Pelorovis_antiquus_rock_art.jpg (right). Robert Jacob Gordon, 1777–1786 (Rijksmuseum). Andy Herries.
Photograph taken at Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch, Namibia. Vincent Mourre (wikipedia) (top left); Pierre-Jean Texier (Texier and others, 2010) (top right); Magnus Haaland (Villa and others, 2009) (lower left);
Christopher Henshilwood (Henshilwood and others, 2009) (lower right).
132 134 136 137 140 141 142 143 144 145 146
Photograph taken on the Sevilla art rock trail, Traveller's Rest (left); Benjamin Schoville (Brown and others, 2012) (centre); Compton (2016:234), artwork by James Berrange (right). Nomadic Khoikhoi dismantling their huts by Samuel Daniell (1805) (Library of Parliament).
Landing of van Riebeeck at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652 by Charles Davidson Bell (National Library). Pedestrian Bridge over Liesbeeck River by William John Burchell, 1811 (Museum Africa) (left); Boershistory (wiki/File:The_Free_ Burghers_Settlement.jpg) (right). An imagined sketch of San taking cover in a cave while under attack by Nguni warriors from Wood, J.G., 1868, The
Natural History of Man, Routledge (left);
A Khoe hunter with his San “handlanger”/servant by Thomas Baines (Iziko Museums) (right)). Kootker and others (2016) (left); Willem Adriaan van der Stel on his farm Vergelegen (J. Juta) (atom.drisa.co.za) (right). Butler, H., 1841, South African
sketches, Ackermann.
Anton le Roex.
Brian Snelson (wikipedia) (left); engraving by W.H. Lizars in Smith, C.H., 1841, The natural history of horses: the
equidae or genus equus of authors,
W.H. Lizars (Plate XXV), biodiversity. org/page/18556901 (centre); Frederick York, Quagga mare in enclosure, London Zoo (1870) from Lankester (2003) (right). Allen Grey (flickr).
Chapter 3
Google Earth.
Battle of Blaauwberg 1806 (artist unknown) (Parliamentary Art Collection, 44995). Marks, Albert, 1908. Tyburn Tree, Its History
and Annals, Brown & Langham (top).
H.M.S. Beagle in Straits of Magellan, frontispiece by R.T. Pritchett in Darwin, C.R., 1890. The Voyage of the Beagle (Darwin, 1839a) (illustrated edition), John Murray. Glass, Ian, Illustrated London News, 21 March 1857 (wikipedia). AerialcamSA (wikipedia) (left); Kevin Winter, 7 March 2018 (theconversation.com) (right).
briangunterblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/ south-africa-rainfall (lower graphic); dam levels and rainfall (upper graphic) from City of Cape Town's weekly water dashboard, 18 May 2020 (capetowndrought. com) and adapted from figure by the Climate System Analysis Group (UCT); NASA (upper right image).
NASA (upper);
iceberg density data from Collecte Localisation Satellites, Natural Earth, Olav Orheim (bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-06-06); NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center) photo by Ted Scambos (lower left); adapted from images by Georges Moughin and Nick Sloane (lower right).
City of Cape Town Biodiversity Report 2018 (resource.capetown.gov.za) (top); Cape Nature (capenature.co.za) (bottom). The slaughter of the game (National Library). 150 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 160 162 163 170 171 172 176 177 178 180 181 183 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 194
Bernard Dupont (wikipedia). Google Earth (right).
Photograph by Matt Stow of the Gran Sasso Quarry, Durbanville Hills (Ciolli Bros) (upper); Google Earth (lower left); Ross Compton (lower right). Mineral Sands Resources (lower left). NASA SeaWiFS (oceancolor.gsfc. nasa.gov/cgi/biosphere_globes.pl). From two bounded volumes: ‘Original Sketches of Scenery and Costume taken at the Cape of Good Hope in Southern Africa by the Lady Anne Barnard in 1798-9’ (Balcarres Heritage Trust). wiki/File:Andrew_Geddes_ Bain01.jpg (left). Google Earth images. courtesy Earth Snapshot. Bernard Wooding (left); Trevor Hardaker (right). Kwantu Game Reserve (right). Derek Keats (flickr) (sparrow); J.H. Parsons (wikipedia) (redwing); C.H. Apperson (wikipedia) (bottom). Hansueli Krapf (wikipedia) (left). Bernard Dupont (wikipedia). Joselyn Mormile.
zeekoevlei.co.za/2010/05/. Jan Fleischmann (wikipedia). Compton (2004: Fig. 60) (left); Climate Central
(Coastal.climatecentral.org) (right). European Environment Agency (sea-level record overlay).
Leveson (1972). Abram (1996). Lopez (1986).
McCarthy and Rubidge (2005) provide an excellent overview of the building of the southern African continent. Reid (2016); Japan is a modern example of a volcanic island arc. Kisters and Belcher (2018). Scheepers and Armstrong (2002), and references therein.
Penny and others (2014). Bengtson and Zhao (2002). Kisters and others (2015). Master (2009).
Playfair and Hall (1813). Lyell (1833:354) (No. 85). Scheepers and Nortjé (2000). Gray and others (2008). Hutton (1788). Playfair (1802).
Braddy and Almond (1999). Blewett and others (2019). Gabbott and others (2016). Hansma and others (2015). wiki/Appalachian_Mountains Backeberg and others (2011). Hawthorne (1975).
Jungslager (1999). Compton (2004: Fig. 16). Brown and others (1999). Smith (2006).
Von Buchenroder (1830). Burchell (1822–4:24–25). Compton (2016:169). Hoernle and others (2015). Curtis and Hyam (1998).
ewn.co.za/2015/03/04/CT-weather-office-records-highest-temperature-ever.
Herbert and Compton (2007), and references therein. Baxter and Meadows (1999).
Bergh (2012). Moolman (1946).
Herbert and Compton (2007). Smith and Compton (2004). Compton (2007).
Swart and Fleming (1980). Franceschini and Compton (2006). Corbett (2016).
Franceschini and Compton (2004). Ward (1983).
Vermeesch and others (2010). Roberts and Berger (1997). Compton (2001). Marsh and others (2018). Von Buchenroder (1830). Fynn (2008).
Halley (1728).
Smith and others (2018).
2017 world energy consumption of 6.2x1020 joules
(eia.gov) divided by 8.9x1016 joules/second from
the Sun (sandia.gov) (SolarFAQs.pdf) = 1.9 hours. Nutman and others (2016); Sugitani and others (2015). Campbell and others (2017).
Weeks and others (2004). Compton and others (2000). Compton and others (2004); Compton and Bergh (2016).
Branch and Branch (2018) (a good general reference to life on West Coast shorelines). Bolton and Blamey (2017).
Slenzka and others (2013). Mora and others (2004). Compton (2001).
Crowther and others (2015). McAuliffe and others (2019). Manning and Goldblatt (2012). Snijman (2013).
Friends of Rondebosch Common (2008). Deacon and Deacon (1999).
Placaat No. 215, 19 Feb.1687 (Lückhoff, 1951).
Theal (1882:185; quoting Isbrand Goske), quoted in Skead (2011:38). Thom (1958:347).
Marshall and others (2018). Barnard (2004).
Cowling and Richardson (1995). Soderberg and Compton (2007). Thom (1954:347). Thunberg (1986:223), as quoted in Skead (2011:35). Thom (1954:347). Snijman (2013) Barrow (1801:24). see Warner (2006) for more of Herschel's drawings.
Letter to J.S. Henslow 9 July 1836 (darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/ DCP-LETT-304.xml). Cannon (1961). Darwin (1839a:337).
Darwin (1887:37) (Letter to C. Lyell dated 12 Dec. 1859).
Verboom and others (2015); Cowling and Richardson (1995). Hendey (1982). Although some gomphotheres had four tusks, research later showed that those fossilised at the WCFP had only two tusks. Brumfitt and others (2013). For a more complete discussion of human arrival see Compton (2016), and references therein. Klein and others (2007). Compton (2011). Klein and others (1999). Fuchs and others (2008). Kolbe (1731, v.2:108), quoted in Skead (2011:143).
For a more complete discussion on the role of a seafood diet in our evolution see Compton (2016), and references therein. Marean and others (2010).
Compton and Franceschini (2005). Paterson (1779:116).
David and van Sittert (2008).
For more on first people see Compton (2016), and visit the !Khwa ttu San Heritage Centre/Museum. Henshilwood and others (2011).
Henshilwood and others (2009). Texier and others (2010). Villa and others (2009). Tribolo and others (2009). Jacobs and others (2008).
Jolly (2015); !Khwa ttu San Heritage Centre. Boonzaier and others (1996).
Thom (1952:129), quoted in Skead (2011:30). Thom (1954:354).
Thom (1954:335). Thom (1954:344–345). Mossop (1935:67).
Thom (1952:186), quoted in Skead (2011:87). Thom (1958:317), quoted in Skead (2011:88). Theal (1882:240), quoted in Skead (2011:88). Kolbe (1731, v.1), quoted in Skead (2011:111). Mossop (1935:43), quoted in Skead (2011:113). Burman (1969:18).
Thom (1958:376).
Burchell (1822–4:137–138); Pieter Potter crossed by way of the original Oude (old) Roodezand Kloof and Burchell in 1811 took the Nieuwe (new) Roodezand Kloof on the east bank of the Klein Tulbagh River (wiki/Roodezand_Pass). Roche (2004); Skead (2011:388–9). Thunberg (1986: 23–26). Skead (2011:386). Skead (2011:389). Thom (1958:299–300). Thom (1958:343). Thom (1958:353). Thom (1958:353). Thom (1958:352). Barrow (1801:85). Mentzel (1785:36). Darwin (1839a:394). Snyder (2018).
Chapter 2 (continued)
Worden and others (1998:26;50;89).
Theal (1882: 229), quoted in Skead (2011:222). Thom (1952:55) and Thom (1952:61). Thom (1958:345), quoted in Skead (2011:333–4).
Thom (1952:37), quoted in Skead (2011:402). Mentzel (1785: 60), quoted in Skead (2011:172). Skead (2011:175–6).
Skead (2011:159). Barrow (1801:27).
Thom (1958:344), quoted in Skead (2011:222). Leibbrandt (1901:138), quoted
in Skead (2011:222). Skead (2011:224).
Theal (1909: 496), quoted in Skead (2011:115). Skead (2011:104–5), and references therein. Bigalke (1951), quoted in Skead (2011:288). Skead (2011:238). Paterson (1790:76), quoted in Skead (2011:239). Alexander, (1838:123), quoted in Skead (2011:363). Lindsay (1849:415), 5 May 1798. Barnard (1910:191). Barnard (1910:187). Barrow (1801:28).
Thom (1952:56), quoted in Skead (2011:173) Thom (1954:54), quoted in Skead (2011:121). Thom (1952:84), quoted in Skead (2011:83). Thom (1958:315), quoted in
Skead (2011:119–120)
Thom (1952:34), quoted in Skead (2011:267). Skead (2011:268). Leibbrandt (1900:73), quoted in Skead (2011:287). Leibbrandt (1900:112), quoted in Skead (2011:287). Barrow (1801:300–301). Barrow (1801:367), quoted in Skead (2011:274/5). Skead (2011:272). Skead (2011:274). Skead (2011:278).
Ellis and others (2010); ourworldindata. org/global-land-for-agriculture#note-2; blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/chart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture (Tariq Khokhar). sos.noaa.gov/datasets/ocean-atmosphere-co2-exchange/
Pimm and others (2014). battle.blaauwberg.net/battle_of_ blaauwberg_by_tim_couzens.php; samilitaryhistory.org/vol134ws.html Hooker (1831:10). Hooker (1831:12). Hooker (1831:13). see 4 above. Hooker (1831:15). Hooker (1831:28). Barrow (1801:145–146). Hooker (1831:33–34). sahistory.org.za/article/louis-van-mauritius-and-slave-revolt-1808 Darwin (1887:268), letter to J.S. Henslow dated July 9, 1836. Darwin (1839b:578). Darwin (1839a:439). Darwin (1839a:385/6). Darwin (1839a:452). researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace handle/10204/6260. Horsburgh (1830:117–118). bloomberg.com/news/features/ 2019-06-06/towing-an-iceberg-one- captain-s-plan-to-bring-drinking-water-to-4-million-people.
Venter and others (2016). Mwema and others (2010). Van Sittert and Crawford (2003). Darimont and others (2015). Thomas (2017:217–218). Skead (2011:431). Skead (2011:357–358).
Robinson (1973:138), quoted in Skead (2011:345).
FitzSimons (1920:9), quoted in Skead (2011:344). Van Sittert (1998), quoted in Skead (2011:428–9). urbancaracal.org/threats
Hooker (1831:58–59).
Barrow (1801:10), quoted in Skead (2011:35–6). resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/ Documents/Graphics and educational material/Biodiv_fact_sheet_06_ CapeFlatsSandFyn_2011–03.pdf Hooker (1831:59).
Barnard (1910:5). Barrow (1801:21). Cole and Roberts (1996).
see, for example: Branch and Branch (2018:256). global proven oil reserves in 2015 of 2.4x1022
joules (bp.com/statisticalreview) divided by 8.9x1016
joules/second from the Sun (sandia.gov) (SolarFAQs. pdf) = 3 days.
nytimes.com/2020/09/29/climate/nuclear–fusion– reactor.html.
McKay and others (1996:76–77).
Xi and others (2016), note that these estimates are controversial.
newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/29/the-world-is-running-out-of-sand.
Philander and Rozendaal (2015). Compton and others (2008). Buesseler and Boyd (2003).
Lindsay (1849:417–8), 6th May 1798. For more of her artwork see: Lady
Anne Bernard's watercolours and sketches, 2009, Fernwood Press.
Ross (2002).
Steytler and Nieuwmeyer (2003). Sobel (1995).
The Afrikaans word dolos (plural: dolosse) may derive from ox bones used in the game of knucklebones (jacks).
Cowling and Richardson (1995). Picker and Griffiths (2013). Skead (2011;264–5). Skead (2011:471–2). nytimes.com/2010/02/01/world/ africa/01safrica.html. gadgeteer.co.za/historyofpinelands; pelteret.co.za/content/000207/The-Garden-City-of-Pinelands-South-Africa. pdf Skead (2011:470). news.uct.ac.za/images/archive/ releases/2019/2019-5-31_Birds.pdf Skead (2011:465–467).
Harley and others (2009), quoted in Skead (2011:449).
Tree (2018), a good account of what can be achieved.
Smithers (1983), quoted in Skead (2011:477).
Chapman and Chapman (1980). nationalgeographic.com/
animals/2018/09/colombia-cocaine-hippos-rewilding-experiment-news/. Thom (1952:66) and Barrow (1804:295). Griffiths and others (2004).
Hearty and others (2020). Brundrit (2009).
ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ WG1AR5_Chapter13_FINAL.pdf. Many of the concepts discussed in 'A new world' are from Thomas (2017).
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aardvark (African ant bear) 150, 151 abalone (perlemoen) 95, 131 accretionary prism 16–17 Adamastor Ocean 15–18, 22, 23 aeolianite 76–81 African superswell 40, 42, 54 Agulhas Bank 43, 60 Agulhas-Columbine arch 23, 43, 70 Agulhas Current 60, 168 Agulhas Sea 29, 32, 36–37 algae 94–98, 100, 171, 189, 208 alien species 158, 176, 194–200, 201, 211, 212 altimetry, ocean 57 amygdales 20 angular unconformity 30–31, 159 Anichab Pan 68–69, 72 animal turnover 122–127, 211 Antarctica 37, 55, 59, 70, 168, 206 antelope 9, 126, 133, 136, 145, 150, 174 blue, extinct 126–127, 173, 201 giant, extinct 123, 126–127, 133, 137 Anthropocene 9, 155–159, 212 apatite 92, 104, 119 aquifer 66–67, 166, 205 arches, sandstone 46–47 armouring 48, 96 artefacts 75, 124, 130–133 Australia 7, 18, 60, 130, 143, 144, 163, 168, 172, 183, 195, 196 baboon, Chacma 123, 128, 150, 202 bacteria 88, 90, 97, 98, 100, 208 Bain, Andrew G. 99, 190–191 Banded Iron Formation 187 Bantu expansion 134
Barnard, Lady Anne 149, 174, 177, 190–191 Barrow, John 115, 142, 146, 147, 150, 152, 153, 162, 164, 176, 177, 203 bathymetry 56–57 beaches 70–73, 96 raised 55, 86 Beagle, HMS 24, 108, 116, 163 bear, extinct 120–121 bedrock 9, 11, 15, 42, 45, 66, 70, 86, 100, 119, 181 Benguela upwelling 59, 60, 91–93 Berg River 12, 23, 65–66, 69, 120, 138, 152–153, 155, 165–167 biomes see plant biomes
Blouberg 47, 49, 73, 159, 166 battle of 159–161 Bokkeveld Group 13, 36–37, 45 bone bed 119–121 bontebok 127, 173–174 boreholes 48, 166, 168, 186 bow and arrow 131–132, 142 brachiopod 34, 37, 88 bricks 111, 181–182 British 158–164 buffalo African or Cape 126, 148, 202 long-horned, extinct 126–127, 133, 137 Buffels River 6, 65, 72, 129 bulbs (geophytes) see lilies
Burchell, William 54, 140, 146 burrows 80, 95, 97, 99, 102, 151 Bushman see San
calcrete 50, 73, 75, 76, 79, 103, 122 California 7, 52, 60, 110, 210 Cambrian explosion 18, 34 Cape Basin 58, 86 Cape Canyon 43, 57, 58, 86, 168 Cape Cauldron 60, 168 Cape Doctor 61, 91 Cape Flats 6, 11, 47, 49, 50, 63, 65, 67, 105, 156, 159, 165, 166, 190 Cape Floristic Region 103, 113,
115, 118
Cape Fold Belt 35, 37–38, 42–43, 58, 124, 128, 139, 165 Cape Peninsula 6, 22, 39, 43–45, 51, 74–75, 146, 166, 176 Cape Supergroup 32–43, 45, 100, 119 carbon dioxide 34, 45, 89–90, 100, 152, 166, 177–178, 183, 188–189, 204–205, 209 Carmichael, Dugald 160–162, 175, 177 cat African wild 174, 211 caracal 150, 174, 202 house 156, 171, 195–196, 198 caves 46, 80, 124, 128–31, 162, 181 Cedarberg Formation 35–36 Cederberg Mountains 42–43, 46, 62, 65, 66, 101, 113, 124, 155, 157 cement 111, 182–184
Chapman’s Peak Drive 30, 40, 46, 50–51
clam, razor (pencil bait) 99 climate 59–63, 101, 181 cycles 56, 92, 125, 127, 133, 188, 194, 204, 206 feedbacks 90, 188–189, 204– 206 Cloudina, fossil 19 coal 92, 157, 158, 177–178, 182, 209 coastal dunes 74–77 erosion 192–193, 205–206 plain 42–43, 55–57, 124–125, 127, 130 Colenso fault 17, 23, 29 concrete 99, 155, 179, 181–187, 192 conservation 211–212 animal 145, 148, 153, 174 corridors 170, 213 forest 111–112, 139, 175–6 water 167 continental collisions 14, 16, 21, 37–38 crust 14, 16, 22–23, 27, 29, 40, 54, 58 origins 14–17, 29 shelf 11, 57–58, 71–72, 92–93 copper 140–143, 186 cordierite 25 cordgrass Spartina 98 corestones 39, 47 craton 14–18, 24, 29 Cretaceous 39, 41, 59, 141, 158 cross-bedding 33, 80 Damara Belt 14, 16, 29 dams 155, 165–169, 205 Darling Hills 68, 169 Darwin, Charles 24–25, 84, 108, 115–118, 143, 163–164 Dassen Island 6, 28, 75, 129, 151, 171, 196
dassie, rock hyrax (rock rabbit) 105, 142, 150–151, 202 dating rocks 20–22, 34, 67, 73,
92, 98 deep time see time
deer, fallow 196, 202 diamond 41,45, 72, 82, 84–86, 99, 185 Die Eiland 27–28 Diepkloof shelter 130–131 Diep River 65, 192–193 diorite 27–28, 75 disa, red 116–117 diseases 134, 144 diversity people 161 species 118, 163, 200, 201, 212 dog domestic 134, 143, 145, 146, 156, 174, 210 wild 146, 174 dolerite 39–40 dolos 192 Drakensburg Mountains 39, 64, 188 drought 63, 67, 76, 141, 165, 167, 205 duiker 108, 133, 150, 197, 202 Duinefontein fossil site 126 dune 74–77, 96 age of 76 barchan 74 bypass 74 lunette 68 plants 103, 114, 195 dunefield Atlantis 71, 74, 81 Geelbek 74–76, 79, 126 dust 62, 110, 188–189 Dutch 64, 107, 111, 136, 138–140, 142, 153, 159–161, 164 Dutch East India Company see
VOC Dwyka tillite 13, 37–38, 56 dykes 26, 39–40 Earth blue marble 88–89 climate 59–63, 101, 181 habitability 88 magnetic field 98 earthquakes 46, 52–54, 82, 179, 183 East African Rift 39, 54, 82, 134 Ediacaran fossils 18–19, 88 eelgrass 97–98 eggshell, engraved 131–132 eland 109, 126, 131, 133, 140, 145, 146, 149, 202 Eland’s Bay 65, 133, 136, 153, 188 Elandsfontein 122–123, 126 elephant 119, 133, 136–137, 140, 147, 151, 152 African 126, 136–137, 172 gomphotheres, extinct 120–121 Reck’s, extinct 126 Elgin Basin 6, 36, 42, 167, 170 Elsieskraal River 65, 165, 177, 197 energy 88, 175, 177–180, 209 coal 92, 157, 158, 177–178, 182 nuclear 178–179, 209 solar 90, 180, 209 epidemics 144, 197 erosion 25, 31, 38, 41–48, 175, 193 eucalyptus (gum) 7, 112, 155, 156, 166, 200 Europeans 126,129, 136, 138–145, 147, 149, 152, 165, 173 evolution 88, 115–118, 122, 125, 127, 128, 130, 208, 210–213 extinction 116, 133, 137, 148, 157, 169, 172–173, 176, 194, 200, 201, 209–211 mass 35, 158, 209 rate of 105, 157–158 Falkland Islands 58 farming 134, 155, 157, 158, 164, 169–171, 181, 195, 204, 207 fire-stick 107, 115, 136 faults 17, 44, 58, 83 and erosion 44–45 extensional 51 San Andreas 52 feldspar 26–28, 50–51, 104, 181 ferricrete 48–49, 151, 182, 186, 187 fire 51, 104, 107, 110, 112, 136, 137, 156, 195
Fish River Canyon 6, 15, 18–19 flamingo, greater 98 floods 31, 65, 67, 120, 194 fog 63, 94, 114 folds 21, 38, 42–43, 45 forest 100, 111, 124, 134, 175–176 afromontane 111–112, 175 kelp 7, 96, 104 fossil bone bed 119–121 brachiopod 37 Cloudina 19 footprints 79–81 fuels 90, 92, 157–158, 178, 209 plants 100–102 Sivathere 120–121 trace 34 tree (wood) 100 trilobite 34, 37, 88 fynbos 103, 107, 109–110, 170, 176 lowland, acid 105, 169 mountain 109–110 fungus see also lichen 101, 195
gabbro 27–28 Galapagos 117–118
gaps in rock record 29–31, 42, 119, 122–123, 133 Gariep Belt 14, 16, 22 Geelbek farm 78, 79, 87, 126 gemsbok 68, 149 genet, Cape 174, 202 genetic drift 118, 125 geological map 13, 17 geophytes see lilies
Giant’s Playground 39 giraffe 148, 202
guano 104, 171
gull, Cape (kelp) 95–96, 171 Gydo Pass 36–37 gypsum 68, 94 habitable zone 88 halite 69 Hall, Basil 26 handaxe 122–124 harbours 192–193 hardgrounds 48–50, 76, 92 hare, Cape 196, 197 scrub 196 hartebeest, red 133, 135, 136, 137, 145, 146 Herschel, John 115–118 heuweltjies see termites
hiatus see gaps in rock record
hills 33, 46–47, 78, 197 Himalayas 14, 38 hippo, Cape 79, 123, 126, 147, 152–153, 203 Holgat River 6, 65 hornfels 24–25 horse, domesticated 145, 149, 158, 195 hot spot biodiversity 103, 118, 163 nutrient 108 oceanic 58, 84 human ecology 172, 207–208 impacts 156, 164, 169, 172, 197–200, 207–213 humans 9, 39, 80, 91, 116, 122, 127, 128, 156–157, 172 early Homo erectus 123, 124, 127
first people Homo sapiens 127,
130–133, 140, 203, 207 footprints 79, 80–81 Saldanha Man Homo heidelbergensis 122–4, 127 hunter-gatherers 107, 115, 129, 130–135, 142–3, 157, 172, 194 hunting 123, 131–133, 135–137, 142, 145–153, 157, 172–174 Hutton, James 26, 30–31, 79 hybrids 125, 196, 201, 210–211 hyena brown 128, 146 footprints 81 spotted 81, 102, 126, 127, 142, 146, 174, 202 ibis glossy 198 hadeda 198 ice age 55–56, 59 bergs 167–168 sheets 34, 35, 37, 55–56, 59, 81, 101, 122, 124, 128, 204, 206 wedging 61 Industrial Revolution 9, 90, 157–159, 164, 177, 187, 204 interglacial periods 56, 80, 92, 95, 125, 126, 127, 133, 194, 204 iron 14, 128, 134, 142, 181, 186–189 fertilisation 62, 90, 188–189 oxides 33, 34, 48–49, 98, 130, 186 ivory 135, 140, 147, 152, 173 Kalahari Craton 14–17, 24, 29, 37 kaolinite 50–51, 181 Karoo Basin 36–39, 177 Karoopoort 6, 36, 38, 43 Kasteelberg 43, 44, 47, 183 archaeological site 135, 136 kelp Gracilaria 78 sea bamboo 7, 96, 104 Khoekhoen (Khoikhoi) 107–108, 126, 134–138, 141, 142–144, 147, 158, 159, 162 Khoisan 135, 137, 138, 140, 144–145, 147, 165, 181, 191 Kilimanjaro, Mount 56, 82, 205 kiln 182–183 kimberlite 41, 84–86 King’s Blockhouse 47, 105, 112, 159, 202 Klipheuwel Group 17, 29 klipspringer 109, 150, 201, 202 Knersvlakte 113–114 Koeberg Nuclear Power Station
178–179, 210 koffieklip see ferricrete
kokerboom/quiver tree 113, 114 Krakatoa 84
kudu, greater 123, 126, 127, 133, 148
lagoon see Langebaan Lagoon
laminations 18, 35 landforms 9, 11–12, 31, 42, 45 landscape 8, 12, 40, 42, 48, 100, 120 submerged 55–58, 125 transformed 165, 190–193 Langebaan Lagoon 6, 50, 65, 77–81, 87, 97–99 leopard 102, 142, 146–147, 174, 202 lichen 8, 35, 104–105, 114 Liesbeeck River 65, 139, 145 life 88–89
along the shore 94–96 at sea 90–93 in Langebaan Lagoon 97–99 lilies (geophytes) 107, 109, 113, 115–118, 136, 151 limpets 80, 95, 129 lion 128, 136, 146, 147, 150, 174 Lion's Head 22, 24, 82, 146 longshore drift 70–72, 75, 85 Lyell, Charles 26, 31, 116, 117, 118 magma 16–17, 21–27, 30, 39, 58, 83, 88 magnetite 72, 98, 187
Malmesbury Group shale 13, 16–21, 44, 45, 47, 71, 73, 106, 159, 181 Mamre 108, 142, 147, 150, 162 manganese oxides 34, 49, 186–187 masonry 52, 181–185
mass extinction events 35, 158, 211 megacrysts see feldspar
mid-Atlantic ridge 40, 54, 58, 88 midden, shell 129, 133
migration 98, 108, 125, 127, 135, 141, 170
Nama Group 18–19, 88, 119 Namakwa Sands 166, 185 Namaqua Belt 14–15 people 136, 140, 142 Namaqualand 114, 141, 146, 148 complex 13, 15, 42 daisies 16, 26, 113–114 rainfall 63, 64, 178
Namib Desert (Sand Sea) 69, 72, 76, 93, 207 Nardouw Subgroup 35–37 natural history 8, 117, 163 museum, Paris 153, 173 Neptunists 24–25 nutrients 35, 62, 91, 92, 94, 104, 108, 110, 128, 135, 171 oak, European 112, 116, 156, 166 ochre 130–131, 135 Olifants River 6, 7, 45, 65–66, 72, 76, 85–86, 136, 142, 165 Orange Basin 41 Orange River 12, 64–67, 72, 85, 141, 152–153, 166, 178, 188 orogenic belts 14, 29
ostrich Struthio camelus 126, 131,
132, 136, 149 otter, clawless 126 overkill hypothesis 172–173 oyster, pink Ostrea atherstonei 99
Paarl (pearl) Rock 6, 22–23, 47 Pakhuis Formation 34–35, 56 Pan African belts 14–16, 18, 29 pastoralists 107, 108, 129, 134–137,
142–143, 197 pelican, great white 171 penguin, African 129, 140, 171 Peninsula Formation 30, 34–35 petrified wood 59, 100–101 phosphorite (phosphate deposits)
92–93, 119, 122, 171 phosphorus 90–93, 104, 110, 171 photosynthesis 88, 90, 91, 97, 109, 166, 180, 186, 187, 209 phytoplankton 90–91, 94 Piekenierskloof Formation 32–33 Pass 32–33, 44, 45, 66 Piketberg 6, 33, 43–45, 147, 157 pine 155, 156, 166, 176, 196, 197 cluster 176 stone 112, 116, 176, 197–198, 200, 201 Monterey Pinus radiata 210
Pinelands 197–200 place, power of 11, 88 sense of 7–8, 9 plant biomes 103, 170 afromontane forest 111–112 dune strandveld 103–105 fynbos, lowland, acid 105, 176 fynbos, mountain 109–110 renosterveld 106–108, 169, 170 succulent Karoo 113–114 plantation, tree 156, 176, 200, 210 plastics 83, 84, 187 plate tectonics 11, 14–17, 54 plateau, southern African 12, 40–41,
43, 54, 82, 110, 141 Playfair, John 26, 31 Pleistocene 59, 93, 101, 172 Plutonists 24–26 poison clubs 174 pollen 101 population 130, 135, 136, 142, 144, 157, 167, 172, 196, 212 porcupine 202, 150–151 Port Jackson 195, 200 Portuguese 107, 138, 140 prawn, sand 78, 97–98, 104 primary producers 90–91 proteas 109, 175 pumice 82–84 quagga, extinct 136, 148, 201, 202 quartz 32, 34, 45, 48, 50, 68, 73, 123 quartzite 49 quartz porphyry 26–27 rabbit European 196 rock see dassie
radioactivity 49, 178–179 rain 60–63, 76, 82, 123, 141,
165–167
reedbuck, southern 126, 127 reeds, freshwater Phragmites australis 68, 78–79, 98
renosterbos (rhinoceros bush) 106–107 renosterveld 106–8, 155, 169, 170 restios 104, 109 rewilding 176, 201–203, 213 rhebok, grey 149, 150, 202 rhinoceros, black 106, 123, 126, 133, 136, 137, 145, 146–147, 151, 152 Richtersveld 15, 16, 146, 149 Rietvlei 65, 192, 193 rivers 64–67, 86 black water 66 dammed 66 Robben Island 55, 71, 76, 129, 140, 144, 151, 196 rock art 132, 133, 136–137 rockfalls 46, 61, 110, 112 Rodinia supercontinent 15 Rondebosch Common 49, 105, 186–187 rooikrans 119, 156, 195, 200 rush Juncus 98 Saldanha Bay 6, 78–9, 92, 120, 134, 139, 144, 165–167, 171, 187 Saldanha Man 122–124, 127 Saldania Belt 14, 16–17, 22, 29 saltation 74 saltmarsh 77–79, 87, 97–99, 114 salt pans 68–69, 168 San (Soaquas) 130–133, 135–137, 142–144 sand 32, 70–81, 85, 96–97, 184–5 dunes see dunes
sandpiper, curlew 98
sandstone 30–36, 38, 43–9, 109–10 seabed 42–43, 57–58, 71
sea foam 94, 104 seafood 80, 127–130, 133 Sea Harvest fossil site 127 seal, Cape fur 120, 127, 128, 129,
135, 203
Table Bay 6, 19, 40, 55, 70–71, 139, 154, 159, 192–193, 203 Table Mountain 19, 26, 31, 34, 38, 43–44, 46, 61, 78, 112, 165, 201 tahrs, Himalayan 201–202 Tankwa Karoo 6, 36–38, 151, 180 tectonic forces 14–17, 29, 30, 37–38, 52, 54, 59, 88 temperature 18, 59–61, 93, 99, 204 termites (termiteria) 101–102, 181 terrace (marine, wave-cut) 55, 86 Thunberg, Carl 111, 141, 148 tides 65–66, 71, 78, 94, 95, 97–99 tillite 36–38, 56 time deep 8–9, 11, 31, 92 gaps in 29–31, 42, 119, 122, 123, 133 tombolo 71 tombstone weathering 34–35 tor 39 tortoise, angulate 104, 196 trees 32, 100, 111–112, 114, 116, 122, 156, 166, 175–6, 189, 197 trekbok invasions 141 trilobite 34, 37, 88 Tristan da Cunha 58, 84, 160 Tygerberg 47, 65, 102, 106–108, 155, 184, 197 Ubendian Belt 14–15 uniformitarianism 31, 79 uplift 22, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 42–44, 54, 71, 119, 182
upwelling see Benguela upwelling
uranium 20–21, 178–179 urbanisation 181, 212
van der Stel, Simon 111–112, 136, 140, 147, 153
Vanrhyns Pass 6, 40–41, 113 van Riebeeck, Jan 111–112, 129,
135, 140, 145, 147, 197, 149, 150, 151, 152, 196, 203 Velddrif Formation 80, 99 Verlorenvlei 6, 65, 131, 136, 153 vlei see wetland
VOC, the Company 111, 129, 136, 138–140, 145, 147, 152, 159, 161, 164, 196
volcanic island arcs 14–17, 29 volcanic rocks 20, 26, 41, 71, 82–85, 163 volcanoes 52, 58, 82–85, 158, 211 mud 82–83, 94 Walvis Ridge 58, 84, 93 warthog, Cape 133, 196 desert 196 water 60, 61, 63, 65–66, 100, 109, 156, 165–168 waterhole 79, 120–121, 123, 136, 147 water table 50, 67, 81 wattle, black 156, 195 waves 47, 55, 69, 70–73, 94 weathering 14, 34, 45, 46, 100, 181 welwitschia 114 West Coast defined 7 geology 13, 17, 53 landforms 12, 42–43, 57 map 6
West Coast Fossil Park 92, 119–121
West Coast National Park 27, 77–81, 104–105, 129, 146 wetland 67, 101, 126, 152–3, 165,
177, 181, 192–3, 197, 203 whale, southern right 91, 92, 120,
128–129, 203 wildebeest, black 126–7, 148, 202 wind 7, 59, 61, 70, 74, 76, 85, 179 Berg 62 Cape Doctor 61, 91 farms 180 Witteberg Group 13, 36, 37 Witsand Formation 75, 77, 80, 81, 103 wood 100–101, 111–112, 139, 175–177, 181 World War II 57, 86, 99, 166 xenoliths 25, 85 yardangs 85 yellowwood Podocarpus 101, 111 Ysterplaat 49, 151, 193 Yzerfontein 6, 27, 28, 69, 75, 183 zebra
giant Cape, extinct 126, 127,
133, 137 mountain 109, 136, 148, 174, 201, 202 zircon 20–21, 34, 185 Smith, Andrew 108 snail plough 96
white Theba pisana 156, 199
soil 18, 48–51, 81, 89, 100, 102–6, 109–110, 118, 119 erosion 31, 168–169, 174–175 solar energy 88, 90, 180, 209 Sossuslvei 69 South Coast 62, 103, 112, 127, 130–131, 134, 141, 147, 178 sparrow Cape 199, 211 house 199, 210, 211 species alien 158, 166, 170, 194–196, 210 diversity 95, 103, 113, 115, 211–212 evolution 115–118, 125, 127, 130, 210–211 hybrids 125, 196, 201, 210–211 loss 157–158 range 124, 170, 194, 206, 210 springbok 127, 141, 202 springs 66, 68, 79, 120, 165 squirrel, grey, red 198 starling European 156, 199 red-winged 199 steenbok 126, 135, 136, 145, 149–150, 197 St Helena Bay 6, 65, 72, 90, 138 stone aggregate 155, 183–184 stone tools 48–49, 79, 123, 130 handaxe 122–124 Howiesons Poort 131–132 microliths 131–132 Still Bay 131 strandlopers 129 strandveld plants 76, 103–105, 200 submarines 57, 86, 166 succulent 15, 98, 104, 113–114 baby bottoms Argyroderma 113
bunny Monilaria sp. 113 Salicornia 98
sulphur 93, 94
Sun's energy see solar energy
supercontinent 11, 15–16, 21, 29, 35, 37, 38, 39
Swartklip fossil site 126–127 Swartland 6, 18, 33, 44–5, 106, 162
