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Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 
camp, and passing through a small belt of mist forest, emerges on an open 
down-like plateau, with scattered Protea trees and close-growing grass, 
which might be tahen for a portion of the Transvaal high veld, though the 
actual altitude is under 4000 ft. 
From here the path continues along the south edge of the mountain for 
some nine miles. At one point it passes an artificial circle of upright stones, 
with one larger dolmen on the east side, which immediately calls to mind 
the stone circles of Europe, and undoubtedly it has a similar origin, for our 
guide informed us that it was a sacred place of the Bavenda, who rest their 
dead there on their last journey to the Sacred Lake. 
About three miles before reaching the lake the path begins to descend 
rapidly, and falls from an altitude of 4100 ft. at the summit to 3100 ft. at 
the high -water mark of the lake. 
In the maps the lake is marked as a triangle. In fact, it fills a portion of 
a long valley and is probably 3000 yds. in length from the high-water mark 
at each end, with a subsidiary valley joining it on the south about two-thirds 
of the way up, the maximum breadth being about 500 yds. The river 
coming down the mam valley is called the Motali, that coming in from the 
south the Fundusi. 
All around the lake, the shores of which, except at the heads of the 
valleys, are either precipitous or else very steeply inclined, the vegetation 
stops abruptly at a well-defined high -water mark. About 40 ft. below 
this high-water mark there is in the southern valley a very pronounced 
terrace, which again was some 20 ft. above the water level at the time of our 
visit. As this terrace was covered with grass it is presumable that the 
water does not often rise above it. 
From the junction of the southern valley to the lower end of the lake is 
an extremely rough scramble over scree and talus, just lying at its angle of 
rest, and slipping into the water on the slightest provocation. 
When one comes in sight of the end of the lake the cause of its origin is 
obvious. The mountain to the north rises to a height of some 1800 ft. 
abruptly above a place where the original valley was narrowed by a ridge of 
rock, which projected into it from the south. In this mountain there is the 
scar of a huge landslide, which appears to have been about 300 yds. long 
and to have stretched about 100 yds. back into the top of the hill. 
This mass has evidently slipped down and completely blocked the valley 
with a barrage of loose rock. 
The scar is overgrown with vegetation, as is the barrage, and though the 
fall must have been recent, geologically speaking, it may be historically 
ancient. 
On visiting the barrage it was found to be so rough that one could only 
climb about on it with great difiiculty. Judging by the vegetation the 
water never overflows, but only gets to within some 20 ft. of the top, the 
