Editing Karoo (section)

==Divisions==
The Karoo is divided into the Great Karoo and the Klein Karoo. The Klein Karoo is delimited in the south by the [[Outeniqua Mountains|Outeniqua–Langeberg Mountains]] that run east–west parallel to the coast, and in the north by the [[Swartberg|Swartberg Mountain Range]] that also runs east–west. The Great Karoo lies to the north the Swartberg.

===Great Karoo===
[[File:Karoo national park.jpg|thumb|left|A view from the top of the [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]] in the [[Karoo National Park]] near [[Beaufort West]], looking south across the plains of the Lower Karoo: Note the remnants of the former extent of the central plateau on the plain below the escarpment (see diagram on the right). Also note the [[dolerite]] sills which top the escarpment and mountains in the middle distance, giving these structures their characteristic flat-topped appearance.]]
[[File:The Great Escarpment.jpg|thumb|A stylized illustration of the Great Escarpment, based particularly on its appearance in the Great Karoo, where thick erosion resistant dolerite sills (see below; represented here by the thick black lines. The thinner dolerite sills are not drawn in this diagram to avoid clutter) generally form the upper, sharp edge of the escarpment. (In other parts of the escarpment, hard erosion-resistant geological layers similarly form the upper, abrupt edge.) Note the island remnants of the earlier extent of the plateau on the plain below the escarpment (the Lower Karoo), left behind as the escarpment has gradually eroded further inland.<ref name= McCarthy1>McCarthy, T.S. (2013) The Okavango delta and its place in the geomorphological evolution of Southern Africa. ''[[South African Journal of Geology]]'' 116: 1–54.</ref>]]
The only sharp and definite boundary of the Great Karoo is formed by the most inland ranges of [[Cape Fold Mountains]] to the south and south-west. The extent of the Karoo to the north is vague, fading gradually and almost imperceptibly into the increasingly arid [[Bushmanland, Northern Cape|Bushmanland]] towards the north-west. To the north and north-east, it fades into the savannah and grasslands of [[Griqualand West]] and the Highveld.<ref name= Altas /><ref name=Norman >Norman, N., Whitfield, G. (2006) ''Geological Journeys''. p. 206-223, 243–247, 252–273, 300–311. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.</ref> The boundary to the east grades into the grasslands of the Eastern Midlands.<ref name=grassland>{{cite web |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/vegetation/grassland.htm |title=Grassland biome |access-date=2 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018003144/http://www.plantzafrica.com/vegetation/grassland.htm |archive-date=18 October 2014}}</ref>
The Great Karoo is itself divided by the Great Escarpment into the Upper Karoo (generally above 1200–1500&nbsp;m) and the Lower Karoo on the plains below at 700–800&nbsp;m.
A great many local names, each denoting different subregions of the Great Karoo, exist, some more widely, or more generally, known than others. In the Lower Karoo, going from west to east, they are the [[Tankwa Karoo National Park|Tankwa Karoo]], the Moordenaarskaroo, the Koup, the Vlakte, and the [[Camdeboo National Park|Camdeboo Plains]]. The Hantam, Kareeberge, Roggeveld, and uweveldare the better known subregions of the Upper Karoo, though most of it is simply known as the Upper Karoo, especially in the north.<ref name= Altas />

===Klein Karoo===
The Klein Karoo's boundaries are sharply defined by mountain ranges to the west, north, and south. The road between Uniondale and Willowmore is considered, by convention, to form the approximate arbitrary eastern extremity of the Klein Karoo. Its extent is much smaller than that of the Great Karoo.<ref name= Altas /> It is  called the ''Klein Karoo'', which is Afrikaans for Little Karoo.