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Magaliesburg is a small town situated on foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range in Gauteng, South Africa. The mountain, town and river are all named after Magali (or Mohale), chief of the Po people who lived here during the 19th century.
The Magaliesberg is a mountain range extending from Pretoria in the north of the Gauteng Province to a point south of Pilanesberg, in the North West Province, South Africa (see also Pilanesberg National Park). The highest point of the Magaliesberg mountain range is reached at Nooitgedacht
The range forms a natural barrier between the lower lying Bushveld to the north and the cooler Highveld to the south. The range receives rainfall in summer in the form of thunderstorms, with an average of 650mmm annually. In winter frost occurs frequently in the valleys on the southern side of the mountain, but almost never on the northern slopes.
The area around the Magaliesberg range has seen extremely lengthy occupation by humans dating back at least 2 million years to the earliest hominin species (such as Mrs Ples) in and around the Sterkfontein Caves, which lie at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, close to the town of Magaliesburg.
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