Geologically, South Africa is an ancient country. Some of the land formations are 3.1 billion years old. South Africa consists of one fundamental mountain range of which the oldest layers are the gold layers of the Witwatersrand.   About 350 million years ago, the north east of South Africa began to drop. The slate and sandstone layers that were created during this process cover an area of about 600 000 square km over a length of about 1300km.   About 70 million years earlier, together with the creation of the Rocky Mountains and the Alps, the Great Escarpment of South Africa was formed. The Drakensberg Mountains, which are up to 3842 metres high, are part of this Escarpment. Through the ages, the land rose and fell giving the Escarpment its dynamic shape.   No other country in the world has such a simple geological build. South Africa is made up of three fundamental segments: The relatively narrow coastline The Escarpment that has a maximum height of about 3500 metres The interior highlands that have a relatively constant height of about 1000 to 1700 metres   You can imagine South Africa's relief as a huge bowl.