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TRANSVAAL , an inland See also:province of the See also:Union of See also:South See also:Africa between the See also:Vaal and See also:Limpopo See also:rivers . It lies, roughly, between 22r and 272° S. and 25° and 32° E., and is bounded S. by the See also:Orange See also:Free See also:State and See also:Natal, W. by the Cape province and the See also:Bechuanaland See also:Protectorate, N. by See also:Rhodesia, E. by Portuguese See also:East Africa and See also:Swaziland . See also:Save on the south-See also:west the frontiers, for the See also:main See also:part, are well defined natural features . From the south-west to the See also:north-east corners of the See also:colony is 570 m.; east 1 Concil See also:trident . Sess . XIII . Can . 2 . 2 P . L . See also:Migne . CXX . De corpore et sanguine Domini, cap. viii . 2, cf. xv . 2 . 3 Sometimes called of See also:Tours, or of Le Mans . ' See Batifol, Etudes d'histoire et de theologie See also:positive, 2m° serie . 5 See also:Lib . III . Decretalium, tit . 41, n . 6 . 6 De captivitate babylonica ecclesiae . De coen5 Domini . But See also:Luther elsewhere professed Consubstantiation ; that is, in See also:modern Lutheran phraseology, the " presence of our See also:Lord's See also:Body " in, with and under the See also:bread . to west its greatest extent is 397 M . The See also:total See also:area is II I,196 sq. m., a little less than the area of See also:Great See also:Britain and See also:Ireland . The boundaries of the Transvaal have varied from See also:time to time . The most important alteration was made in See also:January 1903 when the districts of See also:Utrecht and See also:Vryheid, which then formed the south-eastern part of the See also:country were annexed to Natal . The area thus lost to the Transvaal was 6970 sq. m . (For See also:map see SOUTH AFRICA.) See also:Physical Features.—About five-sixths of the country lies west of the See also:Drakensberg (q.v.), the See also:mountain range which forms the inner rim of the great tableland of South Africa . For a few See also:miles on the Natal-Transvaal frontier the Drakensberg run east and west and here is the pass of See also:Laing's Nek . Thence the mountains sweep See also:round to the north, with their precipitous See also:outer slopes facing east . For some 250 m. within the province the mountains See also:form a more or less continuous range, the highest point being the Mauchberg (8725 ft.) in 24° 20' 10 S . 30° 35 E., while there are several heights of 7000 or more feet . Eastward from the See also:foot of the Drakensberg stretches a broad See also:belt of See also:low See also:land beyond which rise the Lebombo hills See also:running north and south along the parallel of 32° E. and approaching within 35 M. of the See also:sea at Delagoa See also:Bay . The Lebombo hills are See also:flat topped but with a well-defined break on their seaward See also:side . This eastern edge forms the frontier between Transvaal and Portuguese territory . The country west of the Drakensberg, though part of the main South See also:African tableland, is not See also:uniform in See also:character, consisting of (I) elevated See also:downs, (2) their slopes, (3) the flat " bottom " land . The downs or plateaus occupy all the See also:southern part of the country, sloping gradually westward from the Drakensberg . That part of the See also:plateau east of See also:Johannesburg is from 5000 to 6400 ft. high; the western and somewhat larger See also:half is generally below 5000 ft. and sinks to about 4000 ft. on the Bechuanaland border . This plateau land is called the high veld,' and covers about 34,000 sq. m . The See also:northern edge of the plateau follows an irregular See also:line from somewhat north of See also:Mafeking on the west to the Mauchberg on the east . This edge is marked by ranges of hills such as the Witwatersrand, Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg; the Witwatersrand, which extends eastward to Johannesburg, forming the See also:watershed between the rivers flowing to the See also:Atlantic and See also:Indian Ocean . Farther north, beyond the intervening slopes and low See also:bush, are two elevated regions covering together over 4000 sq. m . They are the See also:Water-See also:berg, and, more to the east, separated from the Waterberg by the valley of the Magalakwane tributary of the Limpopo, the See also:Zoutpansberg . The Zoutpansberg has steep slopes and is regarded as the northern termination of the Drakensberg . An eastern offshoot of the Zoutpansberg is known as the See also:Murchison Range . The low land between the high veld and the Waterberg and Zoutpansberg is traversed by the Olifants See also:River, an east flowing tributary of the Limpopo . The true high veld, extending east to west 120 m. and north to south too m., consists of See also:rolling grass covered downs, absolutely treeless, save where, as at Johannesburg, plantations have been made by See also:man, the See also:crest of the rolls being known as builts and the hollows as laagtes or vleys . The See also:surface is occasionally broken by kopjes—either table-shaped or pointed—rising sometimes too ft. above the See also:general level . Small springs of fresh water are frequent and there are several shallow lakes or pans—flat bottomed depressions with no outlet . The largest of these pans, See also:Lake Chrissie, some 5 m. See also:long by t m. broad, is in the south-eastern part of the high veld . The water in the pans is usually brackish . The See also:middle veld is marked by long low stony ridges, known as rands, and these rands and the kopjes are often covered with scrub, while See also:mimosa trees are found in the river valleys . The banken veld, formed by the denudation of the plateau, is much broken up and is See also:rich in romantic scenery . It covers about 27,000 sq. m., and has an See also:average breadth of 40 m . In places, as between Mafeking and Johannesburg, the descent is in See also:terrace-like steps, each step marked by a line of hills; in other places there is a See also:gradual slope and elsewhere the descent is abrupt, with out-lying hills and deep well-wooded valleys . The rocks at the See also:base of the slopes are See also:granite, the upper escarpments are of sedimentary rocks . Thence issue many streams which in their way to the ocean have forced their way through the ranges of hills which See also:mark the steps in the plateau, forming the narrow passes or poorts characteristic of South African scenery . As in the middle veld, rands and kopjes occur in the low or bush veld, but the general characteristic of this part of the country, which covers over 50,000 sq. m., is its uniformity . The low veld east of the Drakensberg begins at about 3000 ft. above the sea and slopes to moo ft. or less until it meets the See also:ridge of the Lebombo hills . The lowest point is at See also:Komati Poort, a See also:gorge through the Lebombo hills only 476 ft. above the sea . West and north of the Drakensberg the general level of the low veld is not much below that of the lowest altitudes of the middle veld, though the See also:climatic ' By the Boers the western and less elevated part of the plateau is known as the middle veld.conditions greatly differ . North of the Zoutpansberg the ground falls rapidly, however, to the Limpopo flats which are little over 1200 ft. above the sea . Near the north-west foot of the Zoutpansberg is the large saltpan from which the mountains get their name . The low veld is everywhere covered with scrub, and water is scarce, the rivers being often dry in the See also:winter See also:season . River Systems.—There are four See also:separate river basins in the Transvaal . Of these the Komati (q.v.) and its affluents, and the Pongola and its affluents rise in the high veld and flowing eastward to the Indian Ocean drain but a comparatively small area of the province, of which the Pongola forms for some distance the south-eastern frontier . The See also:rest of the country is divided between the drainage areas of the Vaal and Limpopo . The Vaal (q.v.) rises in the nigh veld in the See also:Ermelo See also:district not far from the source of the Komati and that of the Usuto tributary of the Pongola . The Vaal drains the greater part of the plateau, flowing westward towards the Atlantic .
The See also:waters of the northern escarpments of the plateau and of all the region farther north are carried to the Indian Ocean by the Limpopo (q.v.) and its tributaries the Olifants, Great Marico, Great Letaha, &c
.
Both the Vaal and the Limpopo in their main course have high steep See also:banks
.
They carry an immense See also:volume of water during the summer rains, but are very small streams in the winter, when several of their tributaries are completely dry
?
None of the rivers is navigable within the limits of the province
.
The See also:absence of alluvial deposits of any See also:size is another characteristic of the Transvaal rivers
.
For a considerable distance the Vaal forms the frontier between the province and the Orange Free State and in similar manner the Limpopo separates the Transvaal from Bechuanaland and Rhodesia
.
Since the first See also:advent of See also:
The following subdivisions have been recognized by Molengraaff: Karroo See also:System, Transvaal System, Vaal River System, South African See also:Primary System
.
Each of these systems is separated from the other by a strong unconformity
.
South African Primary System.—The South African Primary
System includes a complex of rocks as yet little understood
.
Ac-
cording to Molengraaff it includes the two following See also:series:-
-An upper See also:group including the auriferous conglomerates of the See also:Rand:
Witwatersrand Series. a See also:lower group (See also:Hospital See also: There are occasional bands of conglomerates, sometimes auriferous . In the absence of fossils their age cannot be determined . The upper group consists of conglomerates, grits and quartzites with a few bands of shales . It has obtained notoriety from the conglomerates along certain bands containing See also:gold, when they constitute the famous " See also:banket." The thickness varies from 2300 to over II,000 ft . The See also:conglomerate beds occur in belts forming in descending See also:order the Elsburg series, See also:Kimberley series, See also:Bird See also:Reef series, See also:Livingstone Reef series, Main Reef series . The richest in gold are to be found among the Main Reef series, which yields by far the greater part of the total output of gold from the Transvaal . The individual beds, seldom more than a few feet in thickness and sometimes only a few inches, are interstratified with an immense thickness of quartzites . The conglomerates consist almost entirely of pebbles of See also:quartz set in a hard 2 At the See also:Standerton See also:gauge on the Vaal in 1905-1906, a See also:year of extreme drought, the total flow was 8,017,000,000 cub. ft., of which 7,102,000,000 was See also:storm water . See also:matrix consolidated by the deposition of secondary See also:silica . The conglomerate bands and quartzites contain large quantities of See also:iron See also:pyrites deposited subsequent to their formation, that in the conglomerates containing the gold . Sericite in the form of scales and films characterizes those portions which have been faulted, squeezed or sheared . Sheets of See also:diabase, apparently volcanic flows, and numerous dykes interfere with the regularity of the stratification . The theory of the subsequent infiltration of the gold is that generally accepted . No fossils have been discovered, and except that they represent some portion or portions of rocks of the Pre-Cape formation the age of the upper Witwatersrand beds, as well as that of the lower See also:division, remains an open question . They may safely be considered to be among the See also:oldest auriferous sediments of the See also:world . Vaal River System.—This consists largely of rocks of igneous origin, of which the amygdaloidal diabase of Klipriversberg forms the type . The other rocks include igneous breccias, shales, coarse conglomerates and grits . Near Reitzburg the coarse conglomerates reach a thickness of 400 ft. and about 50o ft. at Kroomdraai . This system rests unconformably on the Witwatersrand series and is unconformably overlain by the Transvaal system . It must, however, be acknowledged that these relationships are very imperfectly understood . Compared with other formations they occupy restricted areas, being only met with south of Johannesburg, around Wolmaransstad, Lichtenburg and east of Marico . Transvaal System.—This is a very definite sequence of rocks covering immense areas in the centre of the country . The following groups are recognized : Waterberg Series, See also:Pretoria Series, See also:Dolomite Series, See also:Black Reef Series . The Black Reef Series is composed of quartzites, See also:sandstone, slates and conglomerate . It varies in thickness from 100 ft. in the southern Transvaal to See also:i000 ft. at See also:Lydenburg . Thin bands of conglomerate, sometimes auriferous, occur near the base . The Dolomite Series, known to the Dutch as " Olifants Klip," consists of a bluish-See also:grey magnesian See also:limestone with bands of chert . The thickness varies from 2600 ft. in the Witwatersrand area to 5000 ft. around Pretoria; and is about 2600 ft. about Lydenburg . It is worn by See also:solution into caves and See also:swallow-holes (Wondergarten) . Gold, See also:lead, See also:copper and iron ores occur as See also:veins . So far it has proved to be unfossiliferous . Dykes and intrusive rocks are See also:common . The Pretoria Series, formerly known as the Gatsrand series, consists of repeated alternations of flagstones and quartzites, shales and sheets of diabase . These follow conformably on the Dolomite series . In the . Marico district the shales become highly ferruginous and resemble the Hospital Hill slates of the Witwatersrand series . Near Pretoria duplications of the beds, due to over-thrusting, are not uncommon . The Waterberg Series lies unconformably on the Pretoria series . The See also:colour is usually red, forcibly recalling the Old Red Sandstone and Trias of See also:England . Sandstones, quartzites, conglomerates and See also:breccia make up the formation . They occur to the north-east of Pretoria and occupy still wide areas in the Waterberg district . A complex of igneous rocks of different ages covers immense areas in the central Transvaal . Various types of granite are the predominant variety . Syenites, gabbros, norites and volcanic rocks are also represented . The granite contains two varieties . One is a red granite intruded subsequently to the Waterberg See also:sand-stones; another is a grey variety considered to be older than the Black Reef series and possibly older than the Witwatersrand series . The Karroo System attains its chief development in the south-eastern Transvaal in the districts of Ermelo, Standerton and See also:Wakkerstroom . The latest See also:classification of Molengraaff subdivides the beds as follows Hoogeveld Series = See also:Beaufort beds of Cape Colony . Contains See also:coal-seams . Ecca shales . Not See also:present at Vereeniging . Dwyka conglomerate . Sandstones and conglomerates with coal-seams at Vereeniging . The Dwyka conglomerate resembles the same See also:bed in the Cape province . The boulders consist of very various rocks often of large size . Many of them show glacial striae . The direction of striae on the underlying quartzitic rocks, particularly well seen near the See also:Douglas colliery, Balmoral, point to an See also:ice See also:movement from the north-north-west to south-south-east . The Ecca series, as in the Cape, consists of sandstones and shales . Seams of coal See also:lie near the base, some of them exceeding 20 ft. in thickness, but in this See also:case layers of shaly coal are included . The overlying sandstones afford See also:good See also:building stones, and frequently, as at Vereeniging, yield many fossil See also:plants . These include among others, Glossopteris browniana, Gangamopteris cyclopteroides, Sigillaria Brardi, Bothrodendron Leslii, Noeggerathiopsis Hislopi . The Karroo beds lie almost horizontally, in marked contrast to the highly inclined older rocks . Their See also:distribution, other than in the south-eastern districts, is imperfectly understood . Remnants have been found of their former existence in the neighbourhood of Pretoria; and portions of the Bushveld Sandstone have recently been See also:rule^ated to the Karroo formation . The See also:diamond pipes probably represent some of the most See also:recent rocks of the Transvaal . They may be of Cretaceous age or even later, and in any case belong to the same class as those of Kimberley . The recent deposits of the Transvaal may be considered to be insignificant . They include the gravels and alluviums of the present streams and the almost ubiquitous red sand of aeolian origin.' (W . G . *) See also:Climate.—Although lying on the border of and partly within the tropics, the Transvaal, owing to its high general See also:elevation, and to the absence of extensive marshy tracts, enjoys on the whole a healthy invigorating climate, well suited to the See also:European constitution . The climate of the high veld is indeed one of the finest in the world . The See also:air is unusually dry, owing to the proximity of the See also:Kalahari See also:Desert on the west and to the interception on the east by the Drakensberg of the moisture bearing clouds from the Indian Ocean . The range of temperature is often considerable—in winter it varies from about See also:loo° F. in the shade at I p.m. to freezing point at See also:night . During summer (Oct.–See also:April) the mean temperature is about 73°; during winter about 53° Nov.–See also:Jan. are the hottest and Juneuly the coldest months . The chief characteristic of the rainfall Is its frequent intensity and See also:short duration . During May to See also:August there is practically no See also:rain, and in See also:early summer (See also:Sept.–Dec.) the rainfall is often very See also:light . The heaviest rain is experienced between January and April and is usually accompanied by severe thunderstorms . On the eastern escarpment of the Drakensberg the rainfall is heavy, 5o or 6o in. in the year, but it diminishes rapidly towards the centre of the plateau where it averages, at Johannesburg about 30 while in the extreme west as the Kalahari is approached it sinks to about 12 in . The winds in winter are uniformly dry while dust storms are frequent at all seasons—a fact which renders the country unsuitable for persons suffering from See also:chest complaints . In the eastern part of the plateau See also:snow occasionally falls, and See also:frost at night is common during winter . The banken veld district is also generally healthy though hotter than the plateaus, and malarial See also:fever prevails in the lower valleys . Malarial fever is also prevalent throughout the low veld, but above 3000 ft. is usually of a mild type . Nearly all the country below that elevation is unsuitable for colonization-by whites, while the Limpopo flats and other low tracts, including the district between the Drakensberg and the Lebombo hills are extremely unhealthy, See also:blackwater fever being endemic . In the low veld the shade temperature in summer rises to I13° F., but the nights are generally cool, and down to 2000 ft. frost occurs in winter . The rainfall in the. low country is more erratic than on the plateau, and in some districts a whole year will pass without rain . See also:Flora.—The general characteristic of the flora is the prevalence of herbaceous over See also:forest growths; the high veld is covered by short sweet See also:grasses of excellent quality for pasturage; grass is mingled with protea scrub in the middle veld; the banken veld has a richer flora, the valley levels are well wooded, scattered See also:timber trees clothe their sides and the hills are covered with See also:aloe, See also:euphorbia, protea and other scrub growths . Among the timber trees of this region is the bolkenhout of terblanz (Faurea Saligna) which yields a See also:fine See also:wood resembling See also:mahogany . The scrub which covers the low veld consists mainly of gnarled stunted thorns with flattened See also:umbrella shaped crowns, most of the See also:species belonging to the sub-order mimoseae . A rare species is the See also:acacia erioloba Rameel doorn, akin to the acacia giraffae of Bechuanaland . The See also:wild seringa (Burkea africana) is also characteristic of the low veld and extends up the slopes of the plateau . The meroola (sclerocarya caffra) a See also:medium sized See also:deciduous See also:tree with a rounded spreading See also:top is found in the low veld and up the slopes to a height of 4500 ft . It is common in the lower slopes of the rands of the low veld . See also:Cotton and cotton-like plants and vines are also native to the low veld . Few of the low veld bushes are large or straight enough to furnish any useful wood, and timber trees are wholly absent from the level country . The forest patches are confined to the deep kloofs of the mountains, to the valleys of the larger rivers and to the sea-slopes of the Drakensberg and other ranges, where they flourish in regions exposed to the sea mists . These patches, called " wood-bushes," contain many hardwood trees of great size, their flora and See also:fauna being altogether different from that immediately out-side the wood . Common species in the woodbush are three varieties of yellow wood (Podocarpus), often growing to an enormous size, the Cape See also:beech (myrsine), several varieties of the wild See also:pear (Olinia) and of stinkwood (Oreodaphne) See also:ironwood and See also:ebony . The largest forest areas are in the Pongola district and the Haenertsburg and ' For geology see: F . H . Hatch and G . S . Corstorphine, The Geology of South Africa (See also:London, 2nd ed., 1909); G . A . F . Molengraaff, Geologie de la Republique Sud-africaine du Transvaal, See also:Bull. de la See also:Soc . Geol. de See also:France, 4 serie, tome i., pp . 13–92 (1901) . (See also:Translation by J . H . Ronaldson, See also:Edinburgh and Johannesburg, 1904) ; Reports and See also:Memoirs, Geol . Survey (Transvaal, 1903, et seq.) ; H . See also:Kynaston, The Geology of the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony, Handbook, See also:British Association (Cape See also:Town, 1905) ; Trans . Geol . Soc . S . Africa (Johannesburg) . i Exceptionally very heavy rain is experienced on the Rand . In January 1907 seven inches of rain See also:fell in 24 See also:hours . Woodbush districts north of the Olifants river . Mimosa and the wild wilge-See also:boom (Salix capensis) are the common trees on the banks and rivers, while the weeping See also:willow is frequent round the farmsteads . Many trees have been introduced and considerable plantations made, as for instance on the slopes between Johannesburg and Pretoria . Among the most successful of the imported trees are citrus trees, the Australian wattle and the See also:eucalyptus . See also:Tobacco and the See also:vine both flourish and most European fruits and vegetables thrive . Of native fruits the misple (Vangueria infausta), miscalled the wild See also:medlar, is of excellent flavour . It is common on the rands and kopjes of the bush veld . See also:Rose and other flowering shrubs and trees grow well on the banken veld and in the valleys . A large yellow See also:tulip (Homerica pallida) is one of the most abundant See also:flowers on moist vlei lands on the high veld and is occasionally met with in the low veld ; slangkop (Urginea Burkei) with red bulbs like a beetroot is a low bush plant apparently restricted to the Transvaal and adjacent Portuguese territory . Both these and many other plants such as See also:gift-blaar and drouk-gras are poisonous to See also:cattle . These poisonous plants are found chiefly in the banken and low veld . Fauna.—When first entered by white men the Transvaal abounded in big See also:game, the See also:lion, See also:leopard, See also:elephant, See also:giraffe, See also:zebra and See also:rhinoceros being very numerous, while the See also:hippopotamus and See also:crocodile were found in all the rivers . The indiscriminate destruction of these animals has greatly reduced their See also:numbers and except in the Pongola district, at one or two other places on the Portuguese frontier, and along the Limpopo the hippopotamus, rhinoceros and crocodile are now See also:extinct in the province . A few elephants, giraffes and zebras (equus burchelli—the true zebra is extinct) are still found in the north and north-eastern districts and in the same regions lions and leopards survive in See also:fair numbers . Other animals fairly numerous are the spotted See also:hyena, long-eared See also:fox, See also:jackal, aard See also:wolf, red See also:lynx, wild See also:cat, wild See also:dog and See also:wart hog . Many species of See also:antelope are found, mostly in small numbers, including the See also:kudu, See also:hartebeest, the See also:sable and See also:roan antelope, the white tailed and the brindled See also:gnu, See also:waterbuck, red See also:buck, See also:duiker, blesbok, See also:palla, See also:springbuck (numerous), steinbok, grysbok and See also:klipspringer . The Africander breed of cattle is a well-marked variety, and a characteristic native domestic See also:animal . Whether originally imported from See also:Europe by the Portuguese or brought from the north by Africans is not certain . It is not found in a wild state and the auffalo (See also:bos caller) is almost if not quite extinct in the Transvaal . Among See also:edentata the See also:ant-See also:bear, scaly ant-eater and See also:porcupine are plentiful . The See also:spring See also:hare (pedetes capensis) abounds . Baboons and other apes are fairly common and there are several species of See also:snakes . The See also:ostrich is found in the Marico and Limpopo districts, and more rarely else-where; the great kori See also:bustard and the koorhaan are common . See also:Insects abound, the greatest pest being the tsetse See also:fly, common in the low veld . Six species of tick, including the See also:blue tick common throughout South Africa, are found, especially in the low veld, where they are the means of the transmission of disease to cattle . Mosquitoes, locusts and ants are also common . The baba or cat See also:fish and the yellow fish are plentiful in the rivers and the See also:trout has been acclimatized . To preserve the native fauna the low country on the Portuguese frontier has been made a game reserve . It is nearly 300 M. long with an average breadth of 50 M . Other reserves have been constituted in the north of the province . Inhabitants.—The See also:population of the Transvaal, on the 17th of April 1904, when the first complete See also:census of the country was taken, was 1,269,951 (including 8215 British soldiers in See also:garrison) ,l or 11'342 persons per sq. m . Of these 20.67%, namely 297,277, were European or white . Of the coloured population 937,127 were aboriginals; and 35,547 were of mixed or other coloured races . Of the whites 178,244 (59'95°/x) were See also:males . The white population is broadly divisible into the British and Dutch elements, the percentage of other whites in 1904 being but 8.6 . The Dutch, as their usual designation, Boers, implies, are mainly farmers and stock-raisers and are still predominant elsewhere than in the Witwatersrand and Pretoria districts . They speak the See also:patois of Dutch known as the See also:Taal . The British See also:element is chiefly gathered in Johannesburg and other towns on the Rand and in Pretoria .
The total white population in the Witwatersrand and in Pretoria in 1904 was 135,135, and the strength of the British in these districts is shown by the fact that only 20% was -Transvaal See also:born
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Of those born outside the Transvaal 24.6% came from other British possessions in Africa and 24'92% from Great Britain or British colonies other than African
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Of the non-British or See also:Boer whites Russians form 3.01%, Germans 1.62% and Dutch (of See also: |