South Africa Regional

Pankaj Kumar Singh

Arid Desert

Maritime

Steppe

Savanna Forest

Climatic Regions

Southern Africa has four distinct climatic regions.

1. The deserts are in the southwest,

2. far south and southeast the climate is marine with the dry season in the winter.

3. the middle is steppe,

4. in the north is the Savanna forest,

Much of Southern Africa is covered with steppe and desert.

Rainfall amounts decrease from the Eastern Highlands of Tropical Africa south and westward to the Atlantic coast.

Benguela Cold Current

Namib Desert

Climatic condition of Namib Desert

The Namib Desert, located along the coast, is often foggy, but very little moisture falls to the ground. The result is one of the driest deserts in the world. The Benguela Current, a cold ocean current, flows northward in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast. Winds that blow over this current pick up very little moisture because the cold water does not evaporate. Thus, the winds carry hardly any moisture onto the land. The conditions are very similar to those in the Atacama Desert on the west side of South America, and for similar reasons.

Inland toward the coast from the Namib, another great desert area begins. The Kalahari Desert of Namibia and Botswana.

Steppe surrounding the Kalahari on all sides are the steppe grasslands.

Forest Region - North of the grasslands, the thorn forests and dry woodlands begin. Most of the rain in the region falls during the Southern Hemisphere summer: or from November to April.

Agriculture

The livestock raising and agriculture regions of Southern Africa depend on the rainfall pattern. Because of the dryness of the Kalahari and the Namib, a large part of the region's is devoid of any agricultural activities. On the northern edge of the Kalahari in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, rainfall is sufficient to support grass. The major occupation of that area is nomadic herding.

father north, where it is wetter, the grassland gives way to what was once forests of broadleaf, deciduous trees .Forests have now been replaced with farms.

A similar sequence of rainfall and natural vegetation is found south and east of the Kalahari—first grassland, then the forests. The grasslands, however, are used for ranching, and the once-forested parts are now mixed farming regions.

.For example, the areas of Botswana and the Republic of South Africa that are not desert are grassland, and the predominant industries of both Slates are cattle raising and sheep raising.

Farmlands in Zimbabwe are rich, and the seasonal rainfall is sufficient to grow such products as tobacco, sugar, and cotton; cattle also are important. Thus, meat, tobacco, and sugar are Zimbabwe's major exports, and cotton-textile production is the major industry.

Mozambique is in the wettest part of Southern Africa, and the country exports copra (dried coconut from palm trees). Cotton is also produced in Mozambique.

The leading industry in Lesotho is livestock raising, and its important exports are wool.

Rubber grown in the wet eastern half of Madagascar is that country's leading export, but rice, coconuts are also grown.

RubberTobacco, Cotton, Sugarcane & Meat

Copra

Corn, Wheat , Sugar, Wine

Livestock raising

Agricultural Resources in Republic of South Africa

Only about 12 per cent of the country is arable. Generally, the climate is too dry. and the typically poor African soils are not fertile. In some places, however, conditions are good for farming:

(1)the Natal, part of the coastal plain north of Durban, between the Vaal and Orange rivers, and the coastal lowlands surrounding Cape Town.

(2)The most notable farm products of these regions are corn, wheat and sugar, but wine is produced in the vineyards along the south coast.

Livestock raising is also important. Wool and mutton come from the numerous sheep ranches, and butter, cheese, and fresh milk are produced on the many dairy farms. Much of the beef that is eaten is imported from Botswana. South Africa ranks second in the export of wool in the world.

Southern west of the country is famous for growing grapes and citrus fruits.

Diamond, Gold &Iron ore, Coal

South Africa is the only African State with large coal and iron ore deposits, which makes steel production possible. Thus, the manufacturing of steel is one of the major industries of South Africa.

Discovery of Diamond in Kimberley: discovery of best quality diamond. Today, because of its central location. Kimberley is the transportation hub of the state, and it still leads the world in the production of diamonds.

Discovery gold in Transvaal - gold was discovered north of the Vaal. known as the Transvaal, or "on the other side of the Vaal.“ The gold was found on a ridge called Witwatersrand. which means "ridge of white water.“The original mining town is now called Johannesburg, one of the largest cities in Africa.

The Witwatersrand today is dotted with towns and is one of the most famous and productive mining areas of the world. Coal and Iron ore too was found in the Witwatersrand. Industrially, the coal became mors important than the gold and the steel industry followed soon after.

Transportation

The Republic of South Africa is the only country of Africa with a railroad network.

In addition to the routes that lead to other states in the region, ail its major cities, ports, and resource regions are connected by rail.