Great Dyke

This article is about the geological feature in Zimbabwe. For the manmade Gaojia Weir, sometimes also known as the Great Dyke, see Hongze Lake.
Left - The Great Dyke can be seen as linear feature, running from north-east to south-west in this satellite view of Zimbabwe. Right - The southern end of the dyke is captured in this astronaut photograph.

The Great Dyke or Dike is a linear geological feature that trends nearly north-south through the centre of Zimbabwe passing just to the west of the capital, Harare. It consists of a band of short, narrow ridges and hills spanning for approximately 550 kilometres (340 mi). The hills become taller as the range goes north, and reach up to 460 metres (1,510 ft) above the Mvurwi Range. The range is host to vast ore deposits, including gold, silver, chromium, platinum, nickel and asbestos.[1]

Northern end 16°27′51″S 31°08′24″E / 16.46417°S 31.14000°E / -16.46417; 31.14000
Southern end 20°50′22″S 29°39′04″E / 20.83944°S 29.65111°E / -20.83944; 29.65111
  1. ^ Guilbert, J.M., and Park, C.F.Jr. 1986 The Geology of Ore Deposits, Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-1456-6