An invitation to time travel

the world-renowned 360-million year old fossil archive at Waterloo Farm, Makhanda

Abstract

The earliest historical treasures of the district long remained hidden, buried deep beneath the surface of the Zuurveld and the hills to the north. Great rolling wrinkles of quartzitic rock form the Mountain Drive ridge of the Rietberg, to the west of Makhanda, whilst to its east rises a similar quartzitic ridge which includes Governor’s Kop. These form part of a continuous layer that is folded deep underground between the two. Above it, the ridges are connected by a plane, carved from younger, softer overlying strata more than 60 million years ago. From the south, the headwaters of the Kowie River later gnawed the edge of the plain, carving out a basin named eRhini (the Place of Reeds), where the garrison settlement of Graham’s Town was built. These distinctive quartzitic rocks  (the Witpoort Formation) also underlie much of the Zuurveld, weathering into the pale sandy soils that host heathlands, such as those on the flats near Martindale, and the jagged-edged rocky plateau approaching the Kap River. This sourveld would prove nutrient-poor grazing for generations of cattle owners,  but is florally rich with proteas, pincushion proteas, white and purple “heather” and other fynbos flowers.