Pieter Both (mountain)

{{Short description|Mountain}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Pieter Both

| other_name = Peter Botte Mountain

| photo = Pieter Both, mountain.jpg

| photo_caption = Pieter Both Mountain in 2009

| elevation_m = 820

| elevation_ref =

| prominence_m = 820

| prominence_ref =

| range =

| listing = Country high point

| location = Mauritius, East Africa

| map = Mauritius

| map_caption = Location of Pieter Both in Mauritius

| map_size = 220

| label_position = right

| coordinates = {{coord|20.1923|S|57.5552|E|source:kolossus-dewiki|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref =

| topo =

| type =

| age =

| first_ascent = 7 September 1832 by

| easiest_route =

}}

Pieter Both, sometimes referred to as Peter Botte Mountain,{{cite magazine |last1=Chamers |first1=William |last2=Chambers |first2=Robert |author1-link=William Chambers (publisher) |author2-link=Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802) |title=Peter Botte |date=28 July 1877 |publisher=W. & R. Chambers Publishers |magazine=Chamber's Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts |page=465 |volume=4 |issue=709 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16PQAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Pieter+Both%22&pg=PA465}} is the second highest mountain of Mauritius, at {{convert|820|m|ft|0}} tall.{{cite book |last1=Bhayro |first1=Thunkoomar |title=The Life and Times of a Mauritian Expatriate |date=30 July 2013 |isbn=978-1-291-49267-5 |page=328 |publisher=Lulu.com |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRDhBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pieter+Both%22+second+highest+mountain+of+Mauritius,+at+820+metres&pg=PA328 |language=en}} The mountain is slightly shorter than Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire by eight metres. It is named after Pieter Both, the first Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. It is located in the Moka Range.{{cite book |last1=Schürmann |first1=Felix |title=The Grey Undercurrent: Whalers and Littoral Societies at the Deep Beaches of Africa (1770–1920) |date=3 April 2023 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-075991-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kba1EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pieter+Both%22+second+highest+mountain+of+Mauritius,+at+820+metres&pg=PA285 |chapter=A Dream Destination and a Danger Zone}}

The notable feature of this mountain is the gigantic rock formation at the very top of it, which resembles a human head. The palm species Hyophorbe amaricaulis, famous for being the world's rarest palm today, was once a common sight on this mountain.{{Cite journal |last1=Maunder |first1=Mike |last2=Page |first2=Wayne |last3=Mauremootoo |first3=John |last4=Payendee |first4=Richard |last5=Mungroo |first5=Yousoof |last6=Maljkovic |first6=Aleks |last7=Vericel |first7=Christian |last8=Lyte |first8=Ben |date=January 2002 |title=The decline and conservation management of the threatened endemic palms of the Mascarene Islands |journal=Oryx |language=en |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=56–65 |doi=10.1017/S0030605302000091 |issn=1365-3008|doi-access=free }}

The first ascent of Pieter Both was by Captain Lloyd, Lieutenant Phillpotts, of the 29th Reg., Lieutenant Keppel, R.N., and Lieutenant Taylor on 7 September 1832.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1797600 | title= Account of the Ascent of the Peter Botte Mountain, Mauritius, on the 7th September, 1832 |author=Lieutenant Taylor | journal= The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|volume= 3 |date=1833|pages=99–104 | jstor= 1797600|doi=10.2307/1797600 |url-access=subscription }} {{open access}}

To climb the mountain following the main ridge takes about an hour, and is mildly difficult. It is mainly a scramble, and being exposed, a rope is advised. The dramatic boulder on the pinnacle is about nine metres in diameter, and has several iron spikes fixed to it to aid climbing to the top. The top is flat and about two metres across.{{cite web |last1=Jahp |first1=Alex |title=Pieter Both |url=https://www.exploremauritius.org/?page_id=843 |website=Explore Mauritius |date=24 July 2016}}