In southwestern Angola, the coastal plains abruptly end at a natural barrier. Huila Plateau soars over lowlands to a height of about 2300 meters (7500 feet). The abrupt transition results in dramatic landscapes and a sudden change from an arid environment to a more temperate climate.
The jagged edge of the Huila Plateau zigzags across this image, a mosaic of scenes captured on June 19 and 20, 2025. VAS-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) and OLI on Landsat 9And Landsat 8 satellites respectively. The areas along the edges of the plateau appear green with vegetation. But by late September, the end of the region's season, the landscape turns much browner. dry seasonduring which almost no rain falls.
This topography is part Great Escarpment southern Africa, 5,000 kilometers long, running roughly parallel to the edge of the continent. From Angola it extends south through Namibia, through South Africa and then northeast to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The image below is obtained usingVIRUS(Set of visible infrared radiometers) onFinnish nuclear power plant The satellite shows a longer section of the escarpment in Angola.
Scientists believe that a slope has formedafter the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana during the Jurassic period. Since then, erosion on the continent's edge has worn away so that the escarpment now lies 50 to 200 kilometers (30 to 120 miles) from the coast.
This Angolan stretch of escarpment features dizzying but beautiful scenery. Tundaval Gapthe notch blurred into the cliff line (below) is one of the most iconic with well-framed views of the plains below. The cliff also poses a significant obstacle to transport. The Namibe-Lubango section of the road overcomes this problem with a series of picturesque hairpin bends that rise to Serra without visitingnear the town of Leba.
Lubango, one of the Angolan largest citiesoccupies a valley on the Huila plateau. In addition to its wonderful nature, the city boasts varied mixturecrops, amazing architectureand a wide variety of locally produced products.
NASA Earth Observatory images taken by Wangmei Liang using Landsat data US Geological Survey, and VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS. SPEAR, GIBS/Worldview, Suomi National Polar Orbit PartnershipAnd Integrated Polar Satellite System (YAPSS). Photo Tundaval Gorge © jbdodane.com. Story by Lindsay Dohrmann.
- Journal of African Leadership (2024, May 3) Discovering Lubango, the hidden gem of Southern Angola. As of January 5, 2026
- American Alpine Journal (2024) Fenda da Tundavala and Serra da Leba, new routes . As of January 5, 2026
- Atlas Obscura (August 18, 2025) Serra Dad Pass. As of January 5, 2026
- Clark, VR, etc. (2011) The Great Escarpment of Southern Africa: A New Frontier for Biodiversity Research.Biodiversity and Conservation20, 2543–2561.
- CNN (November 27, 2023) Lubango: A Spectacular African Place You've Probably Never Heard Of. As of January 5, 2026
- NASA Earth Observatory (March 13, 2017) “Brown gold” of South Africa.As of January 5, 2026
- NASA Earth Observatory (December 14, 2013) Tribute to South Africa. As of January 5, 2026
