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Augrabies Falls National Park is a national park located around the Augrabies Falls, about 120 km west of Upington in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It was established in 1966. The Augrabies Falls National Park covers an area of 820 km² and stretches along the Orange River. The area is very arid. The waterfall is about 60 metres high and is awe-inspiring when the river is in flood. The gorge below the falls averages about 240 m deep and runs for 18 kilometres. The gorge provides an impressive example of erosion into a granitic basement. The original Khoikhoi people named the waterfall Ankoerebis, meaning the "place of big noises".〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url =http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/augrabies/ )〕 The Trekboers who later settled in the area derived the name Augrabies. The name is sometimes spelt Aughrabies. There are many deposits of alluvial diamonds along the Orange River and legend has it that the biggest cache of diamonds in the world lies in the swirl-hole eroded into the granite at the foot of the waterfall by the thundering waters.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url =http://www.encounter.co.za/article/89.html )〕 The most characteristic plant in the park is the giant aloe (Aloe dichotoma) known locally as the quiver tree or ''kokerboom''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url =http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-augrabies-falls-northern-cape )〕 It is perfectly adapted to the dry semi-desert rocky areas found in the Nama-Karoo, able to withstand the extreme temperatures and the infertile soil. This tree, which grows up to five metres high, gets its name from the fact that the Bushmen (San) used the soft branches to make quivers for their arrows. The eye-catching silhouette of the quiver tree is typical of this part of Northern Cape landscape. When the tree flowers in the winter flocks of birds are attracted to their copious nectar, and baboons can be seen tearing the flowers apart to get the sweet liquor. A prominent landmark in the park is ''Moon Rock'', a large exfoliation dome measuring around by and high. ==See also== * Broadley's Flat Lizard 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Augrabies Falls National Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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