Abstract
Gorges in the hardveld of southeastern and eastern Botswana occur within fractured siliciclastic rocks likely influenced by uplift associated with the Ovambo‒Kalahari‒Zimbabwe (OKZ) Axis in the end-Cretaceous to early Tertiary. Nine (Peleng East Gorge, Lobatse Rock Paintings Gorge, Athlone Gorge, Segorong Gorge, Mmalogage Gorge, Mmamotshwane Gorge, Phataletshaba Gorge, Shoshong Gorge, and Goo-Moremi Gorge) of the eleven gorges discussed in this paper originate in a bedrock high with a mean length of 1839 m. Two (Pharing Gorge and Kobokwe Gorge, mean length 1454 m) of the eleven gorges appear to originate in small upstream catchments, and all gorges presented in this paper are wider than the streams they currently hold, implying inherited forms from past humid climatic phases (pluvials), in addition to the influences of modern aquifer flow and wet season runoff.
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Acknowledgements
S. M. Isaacs (University of Botswana, UB) is thanked along with B. Fologang and O. Sanka for guidance in the Segorong Gorge. M. Pheto and T. Setlalekgomo (UB) are thanked for guidance in Mmalogage Gorge, Pharing Gorge and the gorges in Lobatse. Mr. Kgosidintsi, M. Tlhapiso and P. Gaboutloeloe (all UB) are thanked for their help at Kobokwe Gorge. Tour guides at Moremi Gorge and Mmamotshwane Gorge are also thanked for their invaluable assistance and knowledge. The University of Botswana is thanked for providing a vehicle for fieldwork. Gratitude is also shown to the reviewer and to Prof. Piotr Migoń and Prof. Eckardt for useful comments that helped improve the manuscript.
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Stephens, M. (2022). Gorges of Eastern Botswana. In: Eckardt, F.D. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Botswana. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86102-5_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86102-5_18
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