GEOGRAPHY

The Republic of South Africa Republick van Suid-Afrika South Africa has coastlines on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It boarders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland. The terrain consists of a vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plains. Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m Area: 1.22 million sqkm Population: 32.6 million (1993) Capital: Pretoria Languages: Afrikaans, English Currency: one Rand = 100 cents

South Africa's natural resources are gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, and natural gas. The land is used for permanent crops, permanent pastures, forests, and woodland. A natural disater is long droughts.

Current environment issues include a lack of important arterial rivers or lakes, which requires extensive water conservation and control measures, using too much water, rivers being polluted from agricultural runoff, air pollution resulting in acid rain, soil erosion, and the land becoming like a desert.

Learn more about the geography of South Africa here!