Brandberg Mountain

Brandberg Mountain is a massif of granite in the Namib Desert of northwestern Namibia and, at about 2,573 meters, the country's highest point. It formed from a large granite intrusion, or pluton, that crystallized underground roughly 132 million years ago during the tectonic rifting that separated Africa from South America, and was later exposed at the surface as the softer surrounding rock eroded away. The granite dome rises abruptly from the surrounding flat desert plain, and its slopes hold thousands of ancient rock paintings created by San hunter-gatherers, including the well known panel called the White Lady, making the mountain notable both for its granite geology and for its archaeological significance.