Karoo
Sign in to saveThe Karoo ( ; from Khoikhoi (also known as Khoekhoegowab/Namagowab or Hottentot language) word ) is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of millions of years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
Key facts
- Settlement.name
- Karoo
- Settlement.native_name
- Karo
- Settlement.settlement_type
- Natural region
- Settlement.image_skyline
- Anysberg P1020029.JPG
- Settlement.image_caption
- Typical Karoo vegetation to the south of Matjiesfontein, with the Anysberg Mountains visible in the background
- Settlement.image_map
- Map of Karoo.png
- Settlement.map_caption
- Extent of the Karoo (olive-green) and Klein Karoo (bright green) in South Africa, with the names of surrounding areas in blue. The thick interrupted line indicates the course of the Great Escarpment which delimits the Central South African Plateau. To the immediate south and south-west the solid lines trace the parallel ranges of the Cape Fold Belt.
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_name
- South Africa
- Settlement.population_density_km2
- auto
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Divisions
- Great Karoo
- Klein Karoo
- Geography
- Great Karoo
- Klein Karoo
- Geology of the Karoo
- The Great Karoo
- Geological history of the Karoo Supergroup
- Geology of the Klein Karoo
- Karoo flora
- Succulent Karoo biome
- Nama Karoo biome
- Karoo fauna
- Great Karoo
- Klein Karoo
- Modern history
- Great Karoo
- Klein Karoo
- Karoo in literature
- See also
- References
- External links
The Karoo ( ; from Khoikhoi (also known as Khoekhoegowab/Namagowab or Hottentot language) word ) is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of millions of years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods, and great droughts. Today, it is still a place of great heat and frosts, and an annual rainfall of between , though on some of the mountains it can be higher than on the plains. However, underground water is found throughout the Karoo, which can be tapped by boreholes, making permanent settlements and sheep farming possible.