Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site

E607219

The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site is a globally significant protected area in South Africa renowned for some of the oldest well-preserved volcanic and sedimentary rocks on Earth, offering key insights into early planetary and biological evolution.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf World Heritage Site
geological heritage site
areaApprox 113 137 hectares
bufferZoneAreaApprox 114 223 hectares
contains Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains NERFINISHED
banded iron formations
komatiite lava flows
stromatolitic structures
containsRocksDated 3.25 billion years old
3.6 billion years old
country South Africa
geologicalAge Archean Eon NERFINISHED
geologicalPeriodRepresented Mesoarchean NERFINISHED
Paleoarchean
hasLegalProtectionStatus nationally protected area of South Africa
hasManagementAuthority South African National Parks NERFINISHED
hasOutstandingUniversalValueFor geological features
record of early life
heritageCategory Natural
heritageCriteria criterion (viii)
inscribedBy UNESCO NERFINISHED
inscriptionYear 2018
knownFor early evidence of life on Earth
evidence of early Earth crustal formation
evidence of early oceanic and atmospheric conditions
well-preserved Archean sedimentary rocks
well-preserved Archean volcanic rocks
locatedIn Mpumalanga Province NERFINISHED
locatedNear Barberton NERFINISHED
locatedOn Kaapvaal Craton NERFINISHED
mainLanguageOfSurroundingCommunities isiZulu
siSwati
nearBorderWith Eswatini NERFINISHED
nearestMajorCity Mbombela (Nelspruit) NERFINISHED
offers key insights into early biological evolution
key insights into early planetary evolution
partOf Barberton Greenstone Belt NERFINISHED
global network of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
recognizedAs one of the best-preserved Archean greenstone belts
recognizedFor continuous geological record over hundreds of millions of years
exceptional state of preservation of Archean rocks
region eastern South Africa
supports geotourism
scientific research

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Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains recognizedAs Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site