The Central Plateau
We will begin in the north with Ovamboland and follow southward the line of the main ridge that forms the inner plateau.
Separated from the highlands of Angola by the gorges traversed by the Kunene, the rocky heights of Ovamboland rise but slowly at first above the general level, but south of the Otavi Hills in Damaraland they gradually ascend until a veritable highland system is developed with towering masses of table rocks and huge dome-shaped summits. Mount Omatako, which has an altitude of 8,500 feet, is the highest peak. Around it, but some distance from it, grouped like satellites, are numerous other imposing mountains from 5,000 to 6,000 feet in height. In the clear air of the uplands the granite pinnacles of these peaks are visible from a great distance. Huge valleys or gorges are a characteristic of this part of Damaraland. The mountain plateaux are widely extended. In the region of Windhoek several rivers have their rise. Further south the ridge falls again to a level of about 3,000 feet, and in many places is broken into by isolated ranges of manifold forms, while the lower levels are studded with stony kopjes.
The country along the eastern border consists of undulating plains and large areas of sandy land which closely resemble the Kalahari.
In all these uplands the prevailing formations are granite, or mica schist. Surface limestone occurs everywhere.
Great Namaqualand
Great Namaqualand, the country that stretches from the south of Damaraland to the Orange River, is a land of rugged hills, stony kopjes, and boundless plains. In the Karas Mountains, the main ridge rises again to a height of 6,600 feet above the sea, and the plateaux have a north to south direction. The boundless plains, really extended tablelands, are a principal feature of the country, and they are invariably sandy.
“Sir,” said a person who knew the country to Dr. Moffat in 1818, “you will find plenty of sand and stones, a thinly scattered population always suffering from want of water, on plains and hills roasted like a burnt loaf under the scorching rays of a cloudless sun.”
“Of the truth of this description,” says Moffat in his laconic fashion, “I soon had abundant evidence.”[2]
Although this portion of South-West Africa is regarded as semi-desert, at rare intervals after rain the plains are covered with long coarse grass and then they have to English eyes the appearance of a vast field of waving oats.