Karoo Supergroup of the country, and in the Lebombo mountains along the Mozambique border. Once the layer of hard lava was eroded away, the softer Karoo sediments over the rest of the basin eroded even faster. However, the dolerite sills resisted erosion, protecting the softer Beaufort and Ecca shales beneath them. This created numerous and widespread flat topped hills, known as Karoo Koppies ("koppie" being the Afrikaans term for hill), which are iconic of the Karoo, and, by extension, the South African landscape. The dykes, or vertical fissures which brought the lava to the surface stand out today as linear ridges extending
Tadjourah Region road of the region, providing a circuitous, up and down route to the capital city compared to the sea route which is approximately a fifth of the distance. It also provides the only proper road of the region into Ethiopia. This is the largest forest in the country, a semi-arid surrounded by semi-desert, with four dominant species: "Juniperus procera", "Olea africana", "Buxus hildebrantii", and "Tarchonanthus camphoratus". Elevations play a major factor in temperature, with the escarpments and plateaus on average 11°C (52°F) cooler, day or night. The climate of the coastal strip is influenced by warm ocean waters, keeping the