The Forming of the Drakensberg. 55 



almost solely by fragments of silicified wood; animal life by the 

 bones of carnivorous dinosaurs, such as Euskelesaurus and Masso- 

 spondylus. 



The thickness of the Eed beds is variable in different parts of this 

 area. At the Barkly Pass, leading over the Drakensberg from Elliot 

 to Barkly East, it is 1,600 feet ; but both to east and west it thins 

 considerably ; and in the Stormberg area, and on the west side of 

 Basutoland, it is usually from 600 to 800 feet in thickness. 



The Eed beds crop out along the slopes of the Drakensberg from 

 Indwe as far north-east, at least, as Van Eeenen's Pass near 

 Harrismith. 



Over the greater part of Wodehouse, and around Jamestown, the 

 high ground is formed of Eed beds, the highest ridges being capped 

 with Cave sandstone and Volcanic beds. 



Erom Lady Grey this division extends into Basutoland, and is 

 exposed in the valley of the Orange Eiver for many miles above 

 Palmietfontein. 



We can follow it along the flanks of the mountains of the Basuto- 

 land border from Kornet Spruit past Mafeteng, Maseru, Thlotse, to 

 the head of the Caledon Eiver. 



The high ground to the north of Eicksburg, and from Bethlehem 

 to Harrismith, is, according to the accounts of G. W. Stow, built up 

 of Eed beds and Cave sandstone. 



The Cave sandstone, the uppermost division of the sedimentary 

 rocks, is fine-grained and white or yellow in colour ; pink and pale 

 blue varieties are occasionally met with, and the rock is often of 

 considerable thickness. The sandstone is usually unbedded through- 

 out the greater portion of its thickness ; towards the top it is often 

 laminated. Ealse-bedding is, however, common, and is sometimes 

 developed on an extensive scale. The sandstone is commonly very 

 soft, and under the action of atmospheric agencies weathers most 

 unevenly. Portions of it are easily eroded and form smooth rounded 

 slopes and domes, often grass-covered, while the rest of the rock 

 projects in rugged crags and pinnacles, often with the most fantastic 

 of outlines. 



Such scenery is graphically recorded by Dunn as occurring on 

 the farms Wonder Hoek and Klipfontein in the Stormberg area, 

 between Molteno and Jamestown. 



To the north-west of Elliot the Cave sandstone in places forms 

 vertical cliffs as much as half a mile in length and 500 feet in height,, 

 while due north of the town there are numbers of peculiar pyramids 

 and pinnacles crowning a spur of the Drakensberg. Mr. Schwara 

 has noted a similar type of scenery in Griqualand East. 



