Blyde (Motlatse), River Canyon
Kwazulu-Natal South Africa
Length of canyon: 15 miles (24 km)
Depth of canyon: 2,625 feet (800 m)
Coordinates: 24° 33' 50 S, 30° 48' 27 E
The river threads through canyonsides cloaked in temperate rainforest and evergreen shrub-like plants known as fynbos.
Blyde (Motlatse) River Canyon Slideshow	The Blyde River Canyon [1]

 

The Blyde River Canyon is a significant natural feature of South Africa, located in Mpumalanga, and forming the northern part of the Drakensberg escarpment. It is 16 miles (26 kilometers) in length and is, on average, around 2500 feet (800m) deep. The Dam itself, when full, is at an altitude of 665m (2182 feet). The Canyon consists mostly of red sandstone. The highest point of the canyon, Mariepskop, is 6378 feet above sea level (1944m) whilst its lowest point where the river leaves the canyon is slightly less than 1840 feet (+- 560m) above sea level. This means that by some measure the Canyon is over 4500 feet (about 1400m) deep.

By some measures it is the third largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia but this depends heavily on one's definition of a canyon (see canyon.) By any definition it is one of the largest canyons on earth, unquestionably being the largest 'green canyon' due to its lush subtropical foliage, and it has some of the deepest precipitious cliffs of any canyon on the planet. It is the second largest canyon in Africa, after the Fish River Canyon, and is known as one of the great wonders of nature on the continent.

Possibly the best view in the whole of the Blyde River Canyon is of the "Three Rondavels", huge, round rocks, thought to be reminiscent of the houses or huts of the indigenous people, known as rondavels. This canyon is part of the famous Panorama route. This route starts at the town Graskop and includes God's Window, the Pinnacle and Bourke's Luck Potholes[2]

The previous name of Blyde came about when a group of Voortrekker women were camped on the banks of a river waiting for their husbands to return. They had gone out to scout a route to the coast of Mozambique. When it seemed like they would not return, they called it the Treur River – meaning River of Sorrow. But when the men eventually did come back they called the river beyond it the Blyde River – River of Joy.[3]