Lebombo Mountains

Lebombo Mountains, long, narrow mountain range in South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique, southeastern Africa. It is about 500 miles (800 km) long and consists of volcanic rocks. The name is derived from a Zulu word, Ubombo, that means “big nose.” In South Africa the mountains extend from south of the Mkuze River (KwaZulu-Natal province) north into Kruger National Park (Limpopo province). The Lebombo Mountains form the boundary between the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and Swaziland, between Swaziland and Mozambique, and between Mozambique and the South African provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, extending north of the Olifants River. The average elevation of the range is about 1,970 feet (600 metres) above sea level; Mount Mananga, on the border between Mpumalanga province and Swaziland, rises to about 2,500 feet (760 metres). A number of rivers, including the eastward-flowing Mkuze, Olifants, Pongola, Ingwavuma (Ngwavuma), and Usutu, cut their way through the range, and the latter two have formed especially spectacular gorges. An immense storage dam has been built in the Pongola gorge. The vegetation on the range is mostly tropical forest and savanna, with ironwood and ebony on the better-drained slopes. In the narrow ravines, tree growth is dense.