Humpata Plateau
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Humpata Plateau
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| Coordinates: 15°19′00″S 13°28′00″E / 15.31667°S 13.46667°E | |
| Location | South-central Angola |
| Elevation | 2,300 metres (7,500 feet) |
The Humpata Plateau (Portuguese: Planalto da Humpata) is an elevated plateau and highlands region in southwest Angola,[1] part of the larger Huíla Plateau.[2] It has a semi-humid climate,[3] and acts as an intermediate climactic region between the arid Namib Desert to the west and the wetter Kalahari Basin to the east.[4] It is a potential water source for the city of Lubango through diversion of its groundwater.[3]
The region is the source of several fossil specimens[5] dating from the Quaternary period.[6] Some such specimens have been retrieved from breccias where animals became trapped in crevasses.[7][8] Several living species of rodent are also known only from this plateau: Gerbilliscus cf. humpatensis, Graphiurus sp. indet. 1 and a unique taxonomic unit of Rhabdomys dilectus.[9]
