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South Africa Cities with Hotels
 South Africa, Republic of, republic in southern Africa, bordered on the north by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland; on the east and south by the Indian Ocean; and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Lesotho forms an enclave in the eastern part of the country. South Africa has an area of 1,223,201 sq km (472,281 sq mi). Pretoria is the country's administrative capital, and Cape Town is its largest city.
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South Africa
Land and Resources
The topography of South Africa consists primarily of a great plateau region, which occupies about two-thirds of the country. The plateaus reach their greatest heights along the southeastern edge of the region, which is marked by the Drakensberg Mountains. This range is part of the Great Escarpment that separates the plateaus from coastal areas. The escarpment includes Champagne Castle (3375 m/11,072 ft), the highest elevation in the country. Within the plateau region three areas may be distinguished: the High Veld, the Bush Veld, and the Middle Veld. The High Veld, which covers most of the region, ranges in elevation between about 1200 and 1800 m (about 4000 to 6000 ft) and is characterized by level or gently undulating terrain.
The northern limit of the High Veld is marked by a rock ridge, called the Witwatersrand, which includes the city of Johannesburg. North of the Witwatersrand is the Bush Veld or Transvaal Basin. This section, much of which is broken into basins by rock ridges, slopes downward from east to west toward the Limpopo River. The Bush Veld averages less than 1200 m (less than 4000 ft) in height. The western section of the plateau region, known as the Middle Veld, also slopes downward in a westerly direction. The elevation of the Middle Veld varies between about 600 and 1200 m (about 2000 to 4000 ft).
Between the edge of the plateau region and the eastern and southern coastline the land descends seaward in a series of abrupt grades, or steps. Along the eastern coast are two steps. The interior step is a belt of hilly country, called the Eastern Uplands. The exterior step is a low-lying plain, called the Eastern Low Veld. On the south, the steps, proceeding from the interior to the coast, consist of a plateau called the Great Karroo, or Central Karroo; a lower plateau called the Little Karroo, or Southern Karroo; and a low-lying plain. The Swartberg, a mountain range, lies between the Great Karroo and the Little Karroo. Between the latter area and the coastal plain is another mountain range, the Langeberg. On the southern coast, just south of Cape Town, is an isolated peak, Table Mountain (about 1086 m/about 3563 ft). On the southwestern coast the edge of the plateau is marked by a range of folded mountains, irregular in character and direction, which descends abruptly into a coastal plain. South Africa also includes a part of the Kalahari Desert in the northwest and a section of the Namib Desert in the west.
Rivers
The chief rivers of South Africa are the Orange, Vaal, and Limpopo. The Orange River is the longest river in the country. It originates in Lesotho, flows in a northwestern direction, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean after a course of some 2100 km (some 1300 mi). The westernmost section of the Orange River forms the boundary between South Africa and Namibia. The Vaal River originates in the northeastern section of the country, near Swaziland. It flows in a southwestern direction to a point in the central portion of the country, where it joins the Orange River. The Limpopo River originates in the northeastern region and flows northwest to the Botswana border and then east along the borders of Botswana and Zimbabwe before entering Mozambique and continuing to the Indian Ocean.
In general, the rivers of the country are irregular in flow. Many are dry during much of the year. Consequently, the rivers are of little use for navigation or hydroelectric power but are of some use for irrigation.
Climate
In general nearly all of South Africa enjoys a mild, temperate climate. Except for the extreme southwest, most of the country is under the influence of the easterly trade winds, which blow from over the Indian Ocean. Laden with moisture, these winds bring about 890 mm (about 35 in) of precipitation yearly to the Eastern Low Veld and the Eastern Uplands as far west as the Drakensberg. The High Veld receives about 380 to 760 mm (about 15 to 30 in) of precipitation annually, the amount diminishing rapidly toward the west. On the western coast rainfall is often as low as 50 mm (2 in) annually. The rainfall deposited by the trade winds occurs mainly between October and April. In the drier regions of the plateaus the amount of rainfall and the beginning of the rainy season vary greatly from year to year. The extreme southwest is under the influence of western winds originating over the Atlantic Ocean. This region annually receives about 560 mm (about 22 in) of rainfall, most of which occurs between June and September.
The average January temperature range in Durban, on a low-lying part of the northeastern coast, is 21° to 27° C (69° to 81° F). The corresponding temperature range in Johannesburg, in the north central area, is 14° to 26° C (58° to 78° F). Johannesburg, although closer to the equator than Durban, has a cooler summer largely because of its higher elevation (some 1670 m/5470 ft above sea level). The average January temperature range in Cape Town, on the southern coast, is 16° to 26° C (60° to 78° F); the Cape Town area is under the influence of cool winds from the South Atlantic. The winter temperature ranges follow the same regional pattern. The average July temperature range is 11° to 22° C (52° to 72° F) in Durban, 4° to 17° C (39° to 63° F) in Johannesburg, and 7° to 17° C (45° to 63° F) in Cape Town. Snow is rare in South Africa, although winter frosts occur in the higher areas of the plateau.
"South Africa, Republic of," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Last Revised: November 11, 2008 09:32 PM. |
