Mont-Aux-Sources

Mont-aux-Sources is a mountain in Southern Africa, forming one of the highest portions of the Drakensberg Range. It is mostly within Lesotho, with parts in the KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces of South Africa.The peak is accessible from the Sentinel Car Park near Witsieshoek, via chain ladders.DescriptionThe Mont-Aux-Sources is part of a basalt plateau which lies at an average elevation of about 3,050 meters (10 000 ft). Among the many escarpments that surround the plateau is a sheer wall of 330 vertical meters, known as the Amphitheatre and the Sentinel. The highest point is a peak 3 km from the Drakensberg escarpment, attaining an altitude of 3282m.HydrographySince important rivers have their sources in the range, the mountainous area was named mont aux Sources by French missionaries who visited the region in 1836.Several rivers originate in the Mont-Aux-Sources, foremost of which is the Tugela, which flows eastwards into the Indian Ocean on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Some 7 km from the Mont-Aux-Sources, the Tugela plunges 947 m in a series of falls in the Royal Natal National Park. This is the second-highest series of falls in the world.