difference between Himalayas and the great escarpment
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The Great Escarpment is a major topographical feature in Africa that consists of steep slopes from the high central Southern African plateau [1] downward in the direction of the oceans that surround southern Africa on three sides.[2][3] While it lies predominantly within the borders of South Africa, in the east it extends northward to form the border between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, continuing on beyond the Zambezi River valley to form the Muchinga Escarpment in eastern Zambia.[4][5] In the west, it extends northward into Namibia and Angola.[4][6]

A map of South Africa shows the central plateau edged by the Great Escarpment and its relationship to the Cape Fold Mountains in the south. The portion of the Great Escarpment shown in red is officially known as the Drakensberg, although most South Africans think of the Drakensberg as only that portion of the escarpment that forms the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. Here the escarpment rises to its greatest height of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).

compared to the preceding map, the Great Escarpment can be identified in this satellite image of South Africa
Different names are applied to different stretches of the Great Escarpment, the most well-known section being the Drakensberg (diagram on the right). The Schwarzrand and edge of the Khomas Highland in Namibia, as well as, the Serra da Chela in Angola, are also well-known names.
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A view of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg portion of the Great Escarpment, from God's Window, near Graskop looking south, shows the hard erosion-resistant layer that forms the upper edge of the escarpment that consists of flat-lying quartzite belonging to the Black Reef Formation, which also forms the Magaliesberg mountains near Pretoria.[2][9]
The eastern portion of the Great Escarpment within the borders of South Africa (see the accompanying map, above) is referred to as the Drakensberg (meaning “Dragon Mountains”),[1][14] because of the Escarpment's appearance from below. The Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Lesotho Drakensberg have hard erosion-resistant upper surfaces and therefore have a very high and rugged appearance, combining steep-sided blocks and pinnacles. The KwaZulu-Natal – Free State Drakensberg escarpment is composed of softer rocks and therefore has a more rounded, softer appearance from below. Generally, the top of the Escarpment is almost table-top flat and smooth, even in Lesotho. The "Lesotho Mountains" are formed away from the Drakensberg escarpment by erosion gulleys that turn into deep valleys that contain the tributaries that flow into the Orange River. There are so many of these tributaries that it gives the Lesotho Highlands a very rugged mountainous appearance, both from the ground and from the air.
Along the southern extent of the central plateau some of the thicker, hard, erosion-resistant dolerite sills form large parts of the upper edge of the escarpment (see illustration on the right), but where the sills are thinner or absent then, like the portion of the Drakensberg between KwaZulu-Natal – Free State, the escarpment is composed of softer rocks, aged between 250–300 million years old.[10] This means that in these regions the scarp has a more rounded appearance, or has eroded away to such an extent that the scarp may no longer be evident (for instance along the route taken by the N1 highway between Beaufort West, below the escarpment, and just beyond Three Sisters on the way to Richmond or Victoria West, on the plateau; and also where the Orange River has eroded a broad valley through the escarpment in the west before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean). Along most of its extent, however, it forms a 400–800 m high mountain-like ridge that roads into the interior have to negotiate, sometimes up steep winding passes, such as the Burke's, Vanrhyns, Bloukrans, Gannaga, Ouberg, Verlatekloof,