South African Geography

The Republic of South Africa lies at the southern end of the African continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland and totally encloses Lesotho.

South Africa has three major geographical regions, namely plateau, mountains and the coastal belt. The high plateau has sharp escarpments which rise above the plains, or veld.

Despite two major river systems, the Limpopo and the Orange, most of the plateau lacks surface water. Along the coastline are sandy beaches and rocky coves, and the vegetation is shrub like. The mountainous regions which run along the coastline from the Cape of Good Hope to the Limpopo Valley in the northeast of the country are split into the Drakensberg, Nuweveldberg and Stormberg ranges.

South Africa is organised into nine regions. These comprise the Western Cape with its provincial and national capital of Cape Town, the Eastern Cape with its provincial capital of Bisho, the Northern Cape with its provincial capital Kimberley, KwaZulu-Natal with its provincial capital Pietermaritzburg, the Free State with its provincial capital of Bloemfontein, the North West Province with its provincial capital Mmabatho, the Northern Province with its provincial capital Pietersburg, Mpumalanga with its provincial capital of Nelspruit, and Gauteng with its provincial capital of Johannesburg.

Location:
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.

Terrain:
Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains.

Climate:
Temperate. Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast. Warm and sunny most of the year. - mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights.

Summer: December to February.
General: Hot with brief late-afternoon thunderstorms.
Western Cape: Mediterranean climate. Low rainfall.

Autumn: March to May.
Low rainfall throughout.
Warm, sunny days. Starts cooling in the evenings.

Winter: June to August.
Higher-lying areas: Dry, bright, sunny, crisp days and cold nights.
Lowveld and the Maputaland Coast: Warm, sunny days. Low rainfall.
Western Cape: High rainfall.
Mountains: Snowfalls are common.

Spring: September to November.
Cape: Amazing transformation, from dry, dreary brown, as thousands of small plants begin shooting, to cover the plains in a fantastic carpet of flowers.

Area:
Total area: 1,219,912 sq km - (470,689 sq miles).
Land boundaries: total 4,750 km, Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline: 2,798 km
Natural resources: Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas. note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) Area—comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas.

Land use:
Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows & pastures: 65%
Forest & Woodland: 3%
Other: 21%
Irrigated land: 11,280 sp km (2001 est)

Capitals:
Pretoria (administrative). Population: 2,080,187 (2002). Cape Town (legislative). Population: 3,350,157 (2002). Bloemfontein (judicial). Population: 500,150 (2002).

Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references: Africa

Land boundaries:
total: 4,750 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline: 2,798 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain.

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas.

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 67%
forests and woodland: 7%
other: 15% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,700 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: prolonged droughts.

Environment—current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification.

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements.

Geography—note: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland.