Waterberg Plateau Park
National Park of Namibia
Waterberg Plateau Park is a national park in central Namibia on the Waterberg Plateau, 68 kilometres (42 mi) south-east of Otjiwarongo. The plateau and the national park are named after the prominent table mountain that rises from the plateau, the Waterberg (Afrikaans: Water Mountain). The Waterberg Plateau is a particularly prominent landmark, elevating high above the plains of the Kalahari of Eastern Namibia. Waterberg Park and some 405 square kilometres (156 sq mi) of surrounding land were declared a Nature Reserve in 1972. As the plateau is largely inaccessible from beneath, several of Namibia's endangered animal species were relocated into the area during the early 1970s to protect them from predators and poaching to extinction. The programme was very successful and Waterberg now supplies other Namibian parks with rare animals. In 1989, the black rhinoceros was reintroduced to the area from Damaraland. The Waterberg Plateau Park is ecologically diverse and rich.
The plateau was declared a National Monument in 1956.
Ecology and geology
The Waterberg is part of the Kalahari Sandveld.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Waterberg Plateau Park” is national Park of Namibia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Waterberg, Plateau and Park, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “national Park of Namibia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1691293. VIAF identifies the subject as 247380226. The Library of Congress control number is sh93009390. Authority coordinates are -20.417, 17.217. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1989 and 1956.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Waterberg Plateau Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Waterberg Plateau Park primary sources, Waterberg Plateau Park archive and Waterberg research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Waterberg Plateau Park”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Waterberg Plateau Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.