Kimberley

Kimberley

1. a city in central South Africa; the capital of Northern Cape province: besieged (1899--1900) for 126 days during the Boer War; diamond-mining and -marketing centre, with heavy engineering works. Pop.: 62 526 (2001)

2. a plateau region of NW Australia, in N Western Australia: consists of rugged mountains surrounded by grassland. Area: about 360 000 sq. km (140 000 sq. miles)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Kimberley

 

a city in the Republic of South Africa, in the northern Cape of Good Hope province. Population, 96,200 (1968; the majority are African and mulatto). Railroad junction. The city was founded in 1871 in connection with the opening of diamond mines. It is a major center for the mining and processing of diamonds. Other industries include metalworking and the manufacture of cement; there are furniture and garment factories and brick-works. Manganese ore, asbestos, and gypsum are mined nearby. A technical college is located in Kimberley. There is also an airport.

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Kimberley

 

a plateau in northwestern Australia, composed of ancient crystalline rocks and sandstones (the eastern part is composed of basalt). The surface has eroded into separate plateaus and ranges, which reach an altitude of 936 m at Ord Mountain. The climate is subequatorial, with wet summers. In the north there are eucalyptus evergreen woodlands; there are denser forests in the river valleys. In the south, sparse desert vegetation predominates; cereals and shrubs grow in the sandy areas.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.