Etjo, Mountain summit in Damaraland, Namibia
Mount Etjo rises prominently above the landscape and forms a ridge within the Okonjati Game Reserve, where water collects in natural basins. The area regularly draws wildlife and offers visitors opportunities to observe local animals in their natural setting.
On 8 and 9 April 1989, Mount Etjo hosted an extraordinary session of a United Nations joint committee made up of delegations from Angola, Cuba, the United States and the Soviet Union, which confirmed the terms of Namibia's independence. In the late 19th century the summit plateau had served as a refuge and sanctuary during conflicts with German colonial forces.
Etjo means "protection" in Otjiherero, and for the Herero the mountain carries more myth than any other in Namibia, ranking beside the Brandberg massif. In the late 19th century its summit plateau served as a refuge and sanctuary during conflicts with German colonial forces.
Mount Etjo lies about 70 km south of Otjiwarongo and 35 km east of Kalkfeld, inside the Okonjati Game Reserve. The plateau is reached by gravel roads, and the ten-kilometre ridge is split by a shallow saddle into two plateaus of roughly 5 km² and 3.5 km². The Klein-Etjo table mountain stands just to the north.
The mountain's name comes from Otjiherero and means "protection"; its plateau served as a refuge and sanctuary for Herero communities during conflicts with German colonial forces in the late 19th century. The ridge line is broken by a shallow depression that divides the summit into two plateaus of about 5 km² and 3.5 km².
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