Great Karoo

Great Karoo

Karoo also spelled  Karroo , Afrikaans  Groot Karoo , also called  Central Karoo 

      plateau basin in Western Cape province, South Africa, lying between the Great Escarpment (north) and the Swartberg (south). It represents the effect of headwater erosion by rivers flowing southwest and southeast from the escarpment. The Great Karoo is divided into a western basin and a much larger eastern basin. The western, which is the headwater basin for the Doring River, is about 140 miles (225 km) north to south and about 50 miles (80 km) wide. The eastern basin contains the headwaters of the Buffels, Dwyka, Gamka, Groot, and Sondags rivers; it is about 300 miles (480 km) long, its width decreasing westward from 80 to 50 miles (130 to 80 km), and is rugged in the north and flat in the south. The low annual rainfall (ranging from 16 inches [400 mm] in the east to 4 inches [100 mm] in the west) and the fauna are typical of arid, semidesert regions. A grazing area, especially for sheep and goats, the basin is fertile where irrigated along the stream courses. Grains and fruit are the chief crops. The principal towns are Graaff-Reinet, Beaufort West, and Aberdeen.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Great Karoo — geographical name see karoo …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Great Karoo — /greɪt kəˈru/ (say grayt kuh rooh) noun See Karoo (def. 1) …  

  • Karoo — The Karoo (a Khoisan word of uncertain etymology [ Oxford English Dictionary , Second Edition, 1989, OED Online] ) is a semi desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub regions the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south …   Wikipedia

  • karoo — ka·roo also kar·roo (kə ro͞oʹ) n. pl. ka·roos An arid plateau of southern Africa.   [Afrikaans, from Nama !garo b, desert.] * * * ▪ region, South Africa also spelled  Karroo    arid to semiarid geographic region of Eastern Cape, Western Cape …   Universalium

  • Karoo — Ka·roo (kə ro͞oʹ) See Karroo. * * * ▪ region, South Africa also spelled  Karroo    arid to semiarid geographic region of Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, South Africa. The Karoo is best defined by its vegetation, which… …   Universalium

  • Karoo — or Karroo geographical name plateau region W Republic of South Africa W of Drakensberg Mountains divided into Little Karoo (or Southern Karoo (in central Western Cape province), ) Great Karoo (or Central Karoo (in Western Cape & Eastern Cape… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Karoo — /kəˈru/ (say kuh rooh) noun 1. any of several high arid plateaus in the southern part of the Republic of South Africa, especially the Great Karoo in the provinces of Western Cape and Eastern Cape with an average height of 750 m, and the Little… …  

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  • Great Fish River — Der Great Fish River am Double Drift Nature ReserveVorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt Dat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Karoo Dwarf Chameleon — Conservation status Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum …   Wikipedia

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