Karoo an immense volume of rocks which was formed, geologically speaking, in a short period of time. Although almost the whole of the Great Karoo is situated on Karoo Supergroup rocks, the geological Karoo rocks extend over a very much larger area, both within South Africa and Lesotho, but also beyond its borders and onto other continents that formed part of Gondwana. The Karoo Supergroup was formed in vast inland basin starting 320 million years ago, at a time when the part of Gondwana which would eventually become Africa lay over the South Pole. Icebergs that had calved off the glaciers
Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden such as the succulents of the unique Robertson Karoo vegetation type, and patches of the threatened Breede Shale Renosterveld vegetation type. The cultivated area, with its network of pathways, includes a very large succulent collection. Including the greenhouses it maintains nearly 3,000 species. There are another 400 plant species that are naturally indigenous to the garden's premises. A range of wild animals also naturally occurs in the garden, including the shrub hare, grey mongoose, three tortoises species ("Chersina angulata", "Stigmochelys pardalis" & "Homopus areolatus") and a range of other small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden The