Tswaing Nature Reserve and Impact Crater, Gauteng
The Tswaing Nature Reserve north of Pretoria is centred around the Tswaing Impact Crater – a 220 000 year old asteroid crater that is clearly visible and identifiable even from the ground. The rim is a 100m high circle of hills, with a diameter of 1km, and in the middle of the crater a salt lake has given the crater it’s name: Tswaing means Place of Salt in Tswana.
The small shallow lake was ‘mined’ for its mineral salt for thousands of years by local tribes, then commercially until the declaration of the reserve. Evidence of Stone Age and Iron Age settlements have been found in the area around the lake, and artifacts are displayed in the small Tswaing Museum along with the story of the meteorite that made the crater and how the impact blast would have devastated life within a 35km radius.
The Tswaing Nature Reserve is a popular picnic spot and the indigenous bush surrounding the crater offers varied bird-life, small game and walking trails.
For more information: 012 790 2302 (no website)
Getting there: The Tswaing Nature Reserve is situated 40km north of Pretoria on the M35. Take the R101 north and follow the signs to Shosanguve.
| More info on the quaint town of Tswane | More info on the Northern Gauteng area |
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