thumb|Approaching the summit of Thabana Ntlenyana
Thabana Ntlenyana () is the highest mountain in southern Africa. It stands tall within the Maloti Mountains that crest Lesotho. The peak's name means "beautiful little mountain" in the Sesotho language, from thaba (mountain), the diminutive -na, ntle (beautiful), and yana (little one). Thabana Ntlenyana is ranked 11th in the world by topographic isolation.
Geography
Thabana Ntlenyana is situated on the Mohlesi ridge, north of the treacherous Sani Pass. Thabana Ntlenyana, like the broader highlands around it, is made of amygdaloidal flood basalt that formed during the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic epochs. Nearby the mountain are the headwaters of the Orange River, which runs approximately to the west before draining into the Atlantic Ocean. Together with its main tributary, the Vaal River, the Orange River's catchment spans around of land across Southern Africa.
Ecology
The high-elevation treeless areas in the Drakensberg like Thabana Ntlenyana are categorized by the World Wide Fund for Nature as part of the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion. This ecoregion is characterized by high elevation and high rainfall, but also by cooler temperatures than more equatorial montane areas. Rainfall comes in summer, often exceeding per year. Snowfall can occur in winter. Temperature varies from to , with an average of .
thumb|left|alt=A map of Southern Africa, with the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion highlighted in green|The Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion, in green (WWF, 2001)
Vegetation in the Maloti is known to vary with the surface geomorphic features beneath it, such as the soil's grain size, carbon content, and depth. Flora communities are composed largely of tussock grasses and ericoid shrubs. Some of the most prevalent grass, sedge, and ericoid species are Merxmuellera disticha, M. drakensbergensis, Poa banana, Carex clavata, and Scirpus falsus.
Access
The peak is often climbed from Sani Top Chalet or from Vergelegen Nature Reserve. The first recorded ascent by Western-tradition mountaineers was achieved in March 1951 by a South African-English team of leader Desmond Watkins, surveyors Barry Anderson and Roy Goodwin, mountaineer C. W. Jorgensen, and least three other assistants, described by Jorgensen only as "cooks, bottlewashers and scarecrows."
thumb|281x281px|Thabana Ntlenyana as seen from the Giants Castle Ridge
Resources
- Fresh Water Ecoregions of the World