1.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
2.
Southern Africa
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Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, and including several countries. The term southern Africa or Southern Africa, generally includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, from a political perspective the region is said to be unipolar with South Africa as a first regional power. It is not used in political, economic or human geography contexts because this definition cuts Mozambique in two, the Southern African Development Community was established in 1980 to facilitate co-operation in the region. Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mayotte, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, Seychelles, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa, respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa as they are SADC members. The terrain of Southern Africa is varied, ranging from forest, the region has both low-lying coastal areas, and mountains. While colonialism has left its mark on the development over the course of history, today poverty, corruption, the pursuit of economic and political stability is an important part of the regions goals, as demonstrated by the SADC. In terms of strength, South Africa is by far the dominant power of the region. South Africas GDP alone is many times greater than the GDPs of all countries in the region. Southern Africa has a diversity of ecoregions including grassland, bushveld, karoo, savannah. It has complex Plateaus that create massive mountain structures along the South African border, there are numerous environmental issues in Southern Africa, including air pollution and desertification. Southern Africa is home to cultures and people. It was once populated by San, Khoikhoi and Pygmies in widely dispersed concentrations, the process of colonization and settling resulted in a significant population of European and Asian descent in many southern African countries. These factors vary from country to country, for example, the Democratic Republic of Congo has favourable climatic and physical conditions, but performs far below its capacity in food provision due to political instability and poor governance. The Republic of South Africa is a food producer and exporter in the region. However this data might not fully capture the reality of a region with high urban populations, urban food security has been noted as an emerging area of development concern in the region, with recent data showing high levels of food insecurity amongst low-income households. In South Africa for example, while over 50% experience hunger, there is only limited data on the other Southern African countries. History of Southern Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Southern Africa
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
5.
Lesotho
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Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is an enclaved, landlocked country in southern Africa completely surrounded by South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 in size and has a slightly over two million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru, previously known as Basutoland, Lesotho declared independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population lives below the poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The original inhabitants of the now known as Lesotho were the San people. Examples of their art can be found in the mountains throughout the area. The present Lesotho, then called Basutoland, emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822, Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Casalis, acting as translator and providing advice on foreign affairs, helped to set up diplomatic channels and acquire guns for use against the encroaching Europeans and the Griqua people. Trekboers from the Cape Colony showed up on the borders of Basutoland and claimed land rights, beginning with Jan de Winnaar. As more Boers were moving into the area tried to colonise the land between the two rivers, even north of the Caledon, claiming that it had been abandoned by the Sotho people. Moshoeshoe subsequently signed a treaty with the British Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Thomas Napier and these outraged Boers were suppressed in a brief skirmish in 1848. In 1851 a British force was defeated by the Basotho army at Kolonyama, after repelling another British attack in 1852, Moshoeshoe sent an appeal to the British commander that settled the dispute diplomatically, then defeated the Batlokoa in 1853. In 1854 the British pulled out of the region, and in 1858 Moshoeshoe fought a series of wars with the Boers in the Free State–Basotho War, the last war in 1867 ended when Moshoeshoe appealed to Queen Victoria, who agreed to make Basutoland a British protectorate in 1868. Moshoeshoe died on 11 March 1870, marking the end of the traditional era and he was buried at Thaba Bosiu. In the early years of British rule between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to territories that had been forcefully annexed. This led to the Gun War in 1881, Basutoland gained its independence from Britain and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966. In January 1970, the ruling Basotho National Party lost the first post-independence general elections, Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party, declared himself Tona Kholo, and imprisoned the BCP leadership
6.
Landlocked country
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A landlocked state or landlocked country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 49 such countries, including five partially recognised states, only two, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America, lie outside Afro-Eurasia. As a rule, being landlocked creates political and economic handicaps that access to the high seas avoids, for this reason, states large and small across history have striven to gain access to open waters, even at great expense in wealth, bloodshed, and political capital. The economic disadvantages of being landlocked can be alleviated or aggravated depending on degree of development, language barriers, some historically landlocked countries are quite affluent, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Austria, all of which frequently employ neutrality to their political advantage. The majority, however, are classified as Landlocked Developing Countries,9 of the 12 countries with the lowest Human Development Indices are landlocked. Historically, being landlocked has been disadvantageous to a countrys development and it cuts a nation off from such important sea resources as fishing, and impedes or prevents direct access to seaborne trade, a crucial component of economic and social advance. As such, coastal regions tended to be wealthier and more populated than inland ones. Paul Collier in his book The Bottom Billion argues that being landlocked in a poor geographic neighborhood is one of four major development traps by which a country can be held back. In general, he found that when a neighboring country experiences better growth, for landlocked countries, the effect is particularly strong, as they are limited in their trading activity with the rest of the world. He states, If you are coastal, you serve the world, if you are landlocked, others have argued that being landlocked may actually be a blessing as it creates a natural tariff barrier which protects the country from cheap imports. In some instances, this has led to more robust local food systems, Landlocked developing countries have significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina is a new country, railways and ports have not been built for its need, there is no freight port along its short coastline at Neum, making it effectively landlocked, although there are plans to change this. Instead the port of Ploče in Croatia is used, after World War I, in the Treaty of Versailles, a part of Germany designated the Polish corridor was given to the new Second Polish Republic, for access to the Baltic Sea. This gave Poland a short coastline, but without a large harbour and this was also the pretext for making Danzig with its harbour the Free City of Danzig, to which Poland was given free access. However, the Germans placed obstacles to free access, especially when it came to military material. In response, the fishing harbour of Gdynia was soon greatly enlarged. Stettin was annexed by Poland after World War II, but Hamburg continued the contract so that part of the port may still be used for sea trade by a successor of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic. The Danube is a waterway, and thus landlocked Austria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia
7.
Enclave and exclave
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An enclave is a territory, or a part of a territory, that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. Territorial waters have the same attributes as land, and enclaves may therefore exist within territorial waters. An exclave is a portion of a state or territory geographically separated from the part by surrounding alien territory. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is partly surrounded by another state. Vatican City and San Marino, enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, unlike an enclave, an exclave can be surrounded by several states. The Azeri exclave of Naxçıvan is an example of an exclave. Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states, while exclaves always constitute just a part of a sovereign state. A pene-enclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently — in particular by wheeled traffic — only through the territory of another country, pene-enclaves are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters, a pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a part of Vorarlberg, Austria. The word enclave is French and first appeared in the century as a derivative of the verb enclaver. In law, this created a servitude of passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land, the first diplomatic document to contain the word enclave was the Treaty of Madrid, signed in 1526. Later, the term began to be used also to refer to parcels of countries, counties, fiefs, communes, towns, parishes. This French word eventually entered the English and other languages to denote the same concept although local terms have continued to be used, in India, the word pocket is often used as a synonym for enclave. In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments or detached parts, in English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars. The word exclave, modeled on enclave, is a extension of the concept of enclave. Enclaves exist for a variety of historical, political and geographical reasons, in particular, this state of affairs persisted into the 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and these domains exhibited many of the characteristics of sovereign states. Prior to 1866 Prussia alone consisted of more than 270 discontiguous pieces of territory, thus, over time enclaves have tended to be eliminated. This exchange thus effectively de-enclaved another two dozen second-order enclaves and one third-order enclave, eliminating 197 of the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves in all, the residents in these enclaves had complained of being effectively stateless
8.
Elevation
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GIS or geographic information system is a computer system that allows for visualizing, manipulating, capturing, and storage of data with associated attributes. GIS offers better understanding of patterns and relationships of the landscape at different scales, tools inside the GIS allow for manipulation of data for spatial analysis or cartography. A topographical map is the type of map used to depict elevation. In a Geographic Information System, digital models are commonly used to represent the surface of a place. Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS, USGS is developing a 3D Elevation Program to keep up with growing needs for high quality topographic data. 3DEP is a collection of enhanced elevation data in the form of high quality LiDAR data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, there are three bare earth DEM layers in 3DEP which are nationally seamless at the resolution of 1/3,1, and 2 arcseconds. This map is derived from GTOPO30 data that describes the elevation of Earths terrain at intervals of 30 arcseconds and it uses color and shading instead of contour lines to indicate elevation. Hypsography is the study of the distribution of elevations on the surface of the Earth, the term originates from the Greek word ὕψος hypsos meaning height. Most often it is used only in reference to elevation of land, related to the term hypsometry, the measurement of these elevations of a planets solid surface are taken relative to mean datum, except for Earth which is taken relative to the sea level. In the troposphere, temperatures decrease with altitude and this lapse rate is approximately 6.5 °C/km. S
9.
Latitude
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In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earths surface. Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles, lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the location of features on the surface of the Earth. Without qualification the term latitude should be taken to be the latitude as defined in the following sections. Also defined are six auxiliary latitudes which are used in special applications, there is a separate article on the History of latitude measurements. Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definition of latitude and longitude, in the first step the physical surface is modelled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses. The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface, the simplest choice for the reference surface is a sphere, but the geoid is more accurately modelled by an ellipsoid. The definitions of latitude and longitude on such surfaces are detailed in the following sections. Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface, latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO19111 standard. This is of importance in accurate applications, such as a Global Positioning System, but in common usage, where high accuracy is not required. In English texts the latitude angle, defined below, is denoted by the Greek lower-case letter phi. It is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds or decimal degrees, the precise measurement of latitude requires an understanding of the gravitational field of the Earth, either to set up theodolites or to determine GPS satellite orbits. The study of the figure of the Earth together with its field is the science of geodesy. These topics are not discussed in this article and this article relates to coordinate systems for the Earth, it may be extended to cover the Moon, planets and other celestial objects by a simple change of nomenclature. The primary reference points are the poles where the axis of rotation of the Earth intersects the reference surface, the plane through the centre of the Earth and perpendicular to the rotation axis intersects the surface at a great circle called the Equator. Planes parallel to the plane intersect the surface in circles of constant latitude. The Equator has a latitude of 0°, the North Pole has a latitude of 90° North, the latitude of an arbitrary point is the angle between the equatorial plane and the radius to that point. The latitude, as defined in this way for the sphere, is termed the spherical latitude
10.
Continental climate
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In the Köppen climate system, Continental climates were bordered to the south by Temperate climates or C climates and to the north by Boreal climate or E climates. Köppen also defined continental climates as having more than 30 days with continuous snowcover on the ground, Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature. They tend to occur in the latitudes, where prevailing winds come from over land. Continental climates occur mostly in the Northern Hemisphere which has the large landmasses required for this type of climate to develop, most of northern and northeastern China, eastern and southeastern Europe, and the central and upper eastern United States have this type of climate. In Continental climates, Precipitation tends to be moderate in amount, a portion of the annual precipitation falls as snowfall, and snow often remains on the ground for more than a month. Summers in continental climates can feature thunderstorms and frequent cool temperatures, the timing of intermediate spring-like or autumn-like temperatures in this zone vary depending on latitude and/or elevation. For example, spring may arrive as soon as early March in the parts of this zone. Annual precipitation in this zone is usually between 600 millimetres and 1,200 millimetres, most of it in the form of snow during winter and it also has cold winters and warm summers. Most such areas fit Köppen classifications of Dfa, Dwa or Dfb or Dwb, dry summer continental climates exist in high altitude areas near Mediterranean climates. In some cases, the climate classification of BSk can also be considered to be continental as long it has cold winter. Some climatologists use the 0 °C isotherm instead for the coldest month, Continental climates exist where cold air masses infiltrate during the winter and warm air masses form in summer under conditions of high sun and long days. Places with continental climates are as a rule either far from any moderating effects of oceans or are so situated that prevailing winds tend to head offshore. Such regions get quite warm in the summer, achieving temperatures characteristic of tropical climates but are colder than any other climates of similar latitude in the winter. These climates grade off toward subtropical climates equator-ward where winters are less severe, in Europe these climates may grade off into oceanic climates in which the influence of moderating air masses is more marked toward the west. The subarctic climate, with cold, long and dry winters. Canada, Throughout much of southern Canada from the Rocky Mountains to Atlantic Canada, major cities, Whistler, Prince George, Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste
11.
San Marino
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Its size is just over 61 km2, with a population of 33,562. Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest city is Dogana, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe. The country takes its name from Marinus, a stonemason originating from the Roman colony on the island of Rab, in 257 CE Marinus participated in the reconstruction of Riminis city walls after their destruction by Liburnian pirates. San Marino is governed by the Constitution of San Marino, a series of six books written in Latin in the late 16th century, the country is considered to have the earliest written governing documents still in effect. The countrys economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP, with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions. San Marino is considered to have a stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt. It is the country with more vehicles than people. Saint Marinus left the island of Arba in present-day Croatia with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini as a stonemason. After the Diocletianic Persecution following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano, the official date of the founding of what is now known as the Republic is 3 September 301. In 1631, its independence was recognized by the Papacy, the offer was declined by the Regents, fearing future retaliation from other states revanchism. During the later phase of the Italian unification process in the 19th century, in recognition of this support, Giuseppe Garibaldi accepted the wish of San Marino not to be incorporated into the new Italian state. The government of San Marino made United States President Abraham Lincoln an honorary citizen and he wrote in reply, saying that the republic proved that government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring. Italy tried to establish a detachment of Carabinieri in the republic. Two groups of ten volunteers joined Italian forces in the fighting on the Italian front, the first as combatants, the existence of this hospital later caused Austria-Hungary to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino. From 1923 to 1943, San Marino was under the rule of the Sammarinese Fascist Party. During World War II, San Marino remained neutral, although it was reported in an article from The New York Times that it had declared war on the United Kingdom on 17 September 1940. The Sammarinese government later transmitted a message to the British government stating that they had not declared war on the United Kingdom, Three days after the fall of Benito Mussolini in Italy, PFS rule collapsed and the new government declared neutrality in the conflict. The Fascists regained power on 1 April 1944 but kept neutrality intact, despite that, on 26 June 1944 San Marino was bombed by the Royal Air Force, in the belief that San Marino had been overrun by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunition
12.
Vatican City
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Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of 842, however, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See, the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope, the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Vatican City is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, the unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, the name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum meaning garden, located in the area the Romans called vaticanus ager. The official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, although the Holy See and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents, the Vatican City officially uses Italian. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, this is used in documents by not just the Holy See. The name Vatican was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for an area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD40, her son, Emperor Caligula built in her gardens a circus for charioteers that was completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply. Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had long considered sacred. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby, the particularly low quality of Vatican water, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. The Vatican Obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant and this area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down, opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Peters in the first half of the 4th century, the Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery
13.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
14.
Durban
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Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Durbans metropolitan municipality ranks third among the most populous areas in South Africa after Johannesburg. It is also the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa after Johannesburg and it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa and it is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the citys warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal which is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa and it has the highest number of dollar millionaires added per year of any South African city with the number rising 200% between 2000 and 2014. In May 2015, Durban was officially recognised as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Havana, Beirut, archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. He named the area Natal, or Christmas in Portuguese, accompanying Farewell was an adventurer named Henry Francis Fynn. Fynn was able to befriend the Zulu King Shaka by helping him to recover from a wound he suffered in battle. As a token of Shakas gratitude, he granted Fynn a 30-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth. During a meeting of 35 European residents in Fynns territory on 23 June 1835, it was decided to build a town and name it dUrban after Sir Benjamin dUrban. The Voortrekkers established the Republic of Natalia in 1838, with its capital at Pietermaritzburg, piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers in Natal, negotiated with the Zulu King, Dingane, in order to obtain land for their farming purposes. After negotiations were concluded, Dingane however reneged and had Retief, thereafter the Zulus attacked and killed more than 500 Voortrekkers at Retiefs laager. The Voortrekkers retaliated and broke Dinganes power at the Battle of Blood River, the force arrived on 4 May 1842 and built a fortification that was later to be The Old Fort. On the night of 23/24 May 1842 the British attacked the Voortrekker camp at Congella, the attack failed, and the British had to withdraw to their camp which was put under siege. A local trader Dick King and his servant Ndongeni were able to escape the blockade and rode to Grahamstown, the reinforcements arrived in Durban 20 days later, the Voortrekkers retreated, and the siege was lifted. Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, a British governor was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony. The British established a sugar industry in the 1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their plantations, as a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban has the largest Asian community on the African continent, and has the largest Indian population outside of India
15.
Senqu River
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The Orange River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, the river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington, it does not pass any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation, the river was named by Robert Jacob Gordon after the Dutch Royal House. Other names include Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River, the official name, however, is the Orange River. The Orange rises in the Drakensberg mountains along the border between South Africa and Lesotho, about 193 km west of the Indian Ocean and at an altitude of over 3,000 m. While in Lesotho, the river is known as the Senqu and parts of it freeze in winter and this creates droughts downstream of it which mainly affects goat and cattle production. The river then runs westward through South Africa, forming the boundary of the Free State province. In this section the river flows first into the Gariep Dam, from the border of Lesotho to below the Van der Kloof Dam the river bed is deeply incised. Further downstream the land is flatter, and the river is used extensively for irrigation. At the western point of the Free State, southwest of Kimberley, the Orange meets with its tributary, the Vaal River. From here it flows westward for 550 km, forming the border between the province and Namibias ǁKaras Region. On the border, the passes the town of Vioolsdrif. In the last 800 km of its course the Orange receives many intermittent streams, in this section, the Namib Desert terminates on the north bank of the river, so under normal circumstances the volume of water added by these tributaries is negligible. Here the bed of the river is again deeply incised. The Augrabies Falls are located on section of the Orange. The Orange empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Alexander Bay, which lies equidistant between Cape Town and Walvis Bay. Some 33 km from its mouth it is obstructed by rapids
16.
Drakensberg
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The Drakensberg is the name given to the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation in this region –2,000 to 3,000 metres, thereafter it forms the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, and next as the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Province. It winds north, through Mpumalanga, where it features such as the Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels. It veers west again and at Mokopane it is known as the Strydpoort Mountains, the Afrikaans name Drakensberge comes from the name the earliest Dutch settlers to the region gave it. They called them the Drakensbergen, or Mountains of Dragons and this highest portion of the Great Escarpment is known as uKhahlamba in Zulu and Maluti in Sotho. About 180 million years ago, a plume under southern Gondwana caused bulging of the continental crust in the area that would later become southern Africa. Within 10–20 million years rift valleys formed on either side of the central bulge, the stepped steep walls of these rift valleys formed escarpments that surrounded the newly formed Southern African subcontinent. With the widening of the Atlantic, Indian and Southern oceans, earthquakes rarely occur, and there has been no volcanic or orogenic activity for about 50 million years. An almost uninterrupted period of erosion has continued to the present, a thick layer of marine sediment was consequently deposited onto the continental shelf which surrounds the subcontinent. During the past 20 million years, further massive upliftment, especially in the East, has taken place in Southern Africa, as a result, most of the plateau lies above 1,000 m despite the extensive erosion. The plateau is tilted such that its highest point is in the east, the elevation of the edge of the eastern escarpments is typically in excess of 2,000 m. It reaches its highest point where the escarpment forms part of the border between Lesotho and the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. The upliftment of the plateau over the past 20 million years and erosion resulted in the original escarpment being moved inland. The rate of the erosion of the escarpment in the Drakensberg region is said to average 1.5 m per 1000 years, or 1.5 millimetres per year. Because of the erosion of the plateau, which occurred over most of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. The youngest rocks that remain cap the plateau in Lesotho and these rocks form the steep sides of the Great Escarpment in this region, where its upper edge reaches an elevation in excess of 3,000 m. Thus the rocks of the Mpumalanga Lowveld below the Mpumalanga portion of the Great Escarpment are more than 3000 million years old, the entire eastern portion of the Great Escarpment constitutes the Drakensberg. The Drakensberg terminate in the north near Tzaneen at about the 22° S parallel, the lower Limpopo River and Save River drain into the Indian Ocean through what remains of this relict incipient rift valley which now forms part of the South African Low veld
17.
Maloti Mountains
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The Maloti Mountains, also spelled Maluti, are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the Free State, the Maloti Range is part of the Drakensberg system that includes ranges across large areas of South Africa. The range forms a high alpine basalt plateau up to 3,400 m in height and it is located between Butha-Buthe District in Lesotho and the Free State Province of South Africa. The highest point,3,482 m high Thabana Ntlenyana, is located in the north-east of the range and it is the highest peak of Southern Africa, and the highest in Africa south of the Kilimanjaro. The 3,291 m high Namahadipiek, the highest mountain in the Free State, is part of the Maloti Range. The mountains form an upland area of rounded peaks with incised deep valleys on the flanks which drain into the Senqu River. Snow and frost may be even in summer on the highest peaks. The sources of two of the rivers in South Africa, the Orange River, known as Senqu in Lesotho. Tributaries of the Caledon River, known as Mohokare in Lesotho, which forms the western border, also rise here. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park includes parts of the end of the Maloti Range. Other parks in this mountain area are the Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho. These parks are part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, list of mountains in South Africa Maloti-Drakensberg Photographs of Golden Gate Highlands National Park
18.
Orange River
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The Orange River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, the river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington, it does not pass any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation, the river was named by Robert Jacob Gordon after the Dutch Royal House. Other names include Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River, the official name, however, is the Orange River. The Orange rises in the Drakensberg mountains along the border between South Africa and Lesotho, about 193 km west of the Indian Ocean and at an altitude of over 3,000 m. While in Lesotho, the river is known as the Senqu and parts of it freeze in winter and this creates droughts downstream of it which mainly affects goat and cattle production. The river then runs westward through South Africa, forming the boundary of the Free State province. In this section the river flows first into the Gariep Dam, from the border of Lesotho to below the Van der Kloof Dam the river bed is deeply incised. Further downstream the land is flatter, and the river is used extensively for irrigation. At the western point of the Free State, southwest of Kimberley, the Orange meets with its tributary, the Vaal River. From here it flows westward for 550 km, forming the border between the province and Namibias ǁKaras Region. On the border, the passes the town of Vioolsdrif. In the last 800 km of its course the Orange receives many intermittent streams, in this section, the Namib Desert terminates on the north bank of the river, so under normal circumstances the volume of water added by these tributaries is negligible. Here the bed of the river is again deeply incised. The Augrabies Falls are located on section of the Orange. The Orange empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Alexander Bay, which lies equidistant between Cape Town and Walvis Bay. Some 33 km from its mouth it is obstructed by rapids
19.
Hydroelectricity
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Hydroelectricity is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015 hydropower generated 16. 6% of the total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity. Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 33 percent of global hydropower in 2013, China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 920 TWh of production in 2013, representing 16.9 percent of domestic electricity use. The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a source of renewable electricity. The hydro station consumes no water, unlike coal or gas plants, the average cost of electricity from a hydro station larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5 U. S. cents per kilowatt-hour. With a dam and reservoir it is also a source of electricity since the amount produced by the station can be changed up or down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, Hydropower has been used since ancient times to grind flour and perform other tasks. In the mid-1770s, French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor published Architecture Hydraulique which described vertical-, by the late 19th century, the electrical generator was developed and could now be coupled with hydraulics. The growing demand for the Industrial Revolution would drive development as well, in 1878 the worlds first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong. It was used to power an arc lamp in his art gallery. The old Schoelkopf Power Station No.1 near Niagara Falls in the U. S. side began to produce electricity in 1881. The first Edison hydroelectric power station, the Vulcan Street Plant, began operating September 30,1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, by 1886 there were 45 hydroelectric power stations in the U. S. and Canada. By 1889 there were 200 in the U. S. alone, at the beginning of the 20th century, many small hydroelectric power stations were being constructed by commercial companies in mountains near metropolitan areas. Grenoble, France held the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism with over one million visitors, by 1920 as 40% of the power produced in the United States was hydroelectric, the Federal Power Act was enacted into law. The Act created the Federal Power Commission to regulate hydroelectric power stations on federal land, as the power stations became larger, their associated dams developed additional purposes to include flood control, irrigation and navigation. Federal funding became necessary for development and federally owned corporations, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority. Hydroelectric power stations continued to become larger throughout the 20th century, Hydropower was referred to as white coal for its power and plenty. Hoover Dams initial 1,345 MW power station was the worlds largest hydroelectric station in 1936
20.
Mohale's Hoek District
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Mohales Hoek is a district of Lesotho. Mohales Hoek is the city or camptown, and only town in the district. As of 2006, the district had a population of 176,928 which was 9.43 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 3,530 which was 11.63 per cent of the area of the country. The density of population in the district was 50.00 per sq. km, as of 2008, there were 42 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 111,150 employed people out of a total of 223,867 people in the district above 15 years of age, the total area planted in 2009 was 27,320 which formed 6.77 per cent of the total area planted in the country. As of 2006, the district had a population of 176,928,9.43 per cent of the population of the country, the total area of the district was 3,530,11.63 per cent of the country. The population density was 50.00 persons per square kilometre, there were eight constituencies and thirteen community councils in the district. As of 2006,502 people tested HIV positive,20.70 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country,204 of these were men,298 were women. As of 2008, there were 42 per cent economically active people in the district, there were totally 111,150 employed people out of a total of 223,867 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 2,222 out of a total of 59,466 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 192.00. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 1,064. The number of unemployed people in the district was 31,464, the total area planted in 2009 was 27,320 which formed 6.77 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 7,807 tonnes, which was 5.18 per cent of the totals in the country, the major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 4,960 tonnes, beans was 400 tonnes, sorghum was 113 tonnes, peas was 1,335 tonnes and wheat was 999 tonnes as of 2008. As of 2007, there were a total of 146 km of paved roads in the district, in the southwest, Mohales Hoek borders on South Africa, mostly the Free State Province, but the southeastern border is with the Eastern Cape Province. The Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m 1,800 m above the sea level and these lands are the major agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm, most of which is received during the season of October to April
21.
Karoo Supergroup
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The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, Karoo supergroup outcrops are also found in Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, as well as on other continents that were part of Gondwana. The basins in which it was deposited formed during the formation, the type area of the Karoo Supergroup is the Great Karoo in South Africa, where the most extensive outcrops of the sequence are exposed. Its strata which consist mostly of shales and sandstones, record an almost continuous sequence of marine glacial to terrestrial deposition from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Jurassic and these accumulated in a retroarc foreland basin called the main Karoo Basin. This basin was formed by the subduction and orogenesis along the border of what eventually became Southern Africa. Its sediments attain a maximum thickness of 12 km, with the overlying basaltic lavas at least 1.4 km thick. Fossils include plants, rare insects and fish, common and diverse tetrapods and their biostratigraphy has been used as the international standard for global correlation of Permian to Jurassic nonmarine strata. An 8 km thick layer of sediment, known as the Cape Supergroup, the folded Cape Supergroup formed the northern foothills of this mountain range. The weight of the Falkland-Cape Supergroup mountains caused the continental crust of Southern Africa to sag, forming a retroarc foreland system, sedimentation, beginning with glacial deposits from the north, but later from the Falkland Mountains to the south, into this depression formed the Karoo Supergroup. About 330 million years ago Gondwana had drifted over the South Pole, with the result that an ice sheet several kilometers thick covered much of Africa, and other parts of Gondwana. The glacial deposits from this ice sheet were the first of the sediments to be deposited to the north of the Cape Fold Mountains, the basin into which these sediments settled was deepest immediately north of the Cape Fold Mountain ranges. Such deposits are known as tillite and this layer of tillite, traces of which can be found over a wide area of Southern Africa, India, and South America provided crucial early evidence in support of the Theory of Continental Drift. In South Africa the layer is known as the Dwyka Group and it is the earliest and lowermost of the Karoo Supergroup of sedimentary deposits. As Gondwana drifted away from the South Pole, the glaciers melted, leaving a vast inland sea, extending across South Africa and it might have had an opening to the ocean but tidal effects were small. Rivers draining mountains to the north of the Karoo Sea formed large swampy deltas in which plants belonging to the Glossopteris flora flourished and this dense vegetation accumulated as peat, which eventually turned into coal. The coal deposits are confined to the shores of the early Permian Karoo Sea. These sedimentary deposits are termed the Ecca Group of the Karoo Supergroup and they consist largely of shales, and extend over the entire former Karoo Sea, but the southerly deposits do not contain coal, even though rivers from the Cape Fold Mountains formed small deltas. Although the vegetation in the south was not as dense as on the shores of the inland sea
22.
Shale
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Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable, shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility. Mudstones, on the hand, are similar in composition. Before the mid 19th century, the slate, shale. In the context of underground mining, shale was frequently referred to as slate well into the 20th century. Non-fissile rocks of similar composition but made of smaller than 0.06 mm are described as mudstones or claystone. Rocks with similar sizes but with less clay and therefore grittier are siltstones. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock, shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray. Addition of variable amounts of minor constituents alters the color of the rock, black shale results from the presence of greater than one percent carbonaceous material and indicates a reducing environment. Black shale can also be referred to as black metal, red, brown and green colors are indicative of ferric oxide, iron hydroxide, or micaceous minerals. Clays are the constituent of shales and other mudrocks. The clay minerals represented are largely kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite, clay minerals of Late Tertiary mudstones are expandable smectites whereas in older rocks especially in mid- to early Paleozoic shales illites predominate. The transformation of smectite to illite produces silica, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and these released elements form authigenic quartz, chert, calcite, dolomite, ankerite, hematite and albite, all trace to minor minerals found in shales and other mudrocks. Shales and mudrocks contain roughly 95 percent of the matter in all sedimentary rocks. However, this amounts to less than one percent by mass in an average shale, black shales, which form in anoxic conditions, contain reduced free carbon along with ferrous iron and sulfur. Pyrite and amorphous iron sulfide along with carbon produce the black coloration, the process in the rock cycle which forms shale is called compaction. The fine particles that compose shale can remain suspended in long after the larger particles of sand have deposited. Shales are typically deposited in very slow moving water and are found in lakes and lagoonal deposits, in river deltas, on floodplains
23.
Sandstone
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Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earths crust, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, quartz-bearing sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure, usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. They are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, grain sizes in sands are defined within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages, first, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation, either from water or from air. Typically, sedimentation occurs by the settling out from suspension. The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow, a predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red, with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a building material or as a facing stone. These physical properties allow the grains to survive multiple recycling events. Quartz grains evolve from rock, which are felsic in origin. Feldspathic framework grains are commonly the second most abundant mineral in sandstones, Feldspar can be divided into two smaller subdivisions, alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars. The different types of feldspar can be distinguished under a petrographic microscope, below is a description of the different types of feldspar. Alkali feldspar is a group of minerals in which the composition of the mineral can range from KAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8. Plagioclase feldspar is a group of solid solution minerals that range in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8. Lithic framework grains are pieces of ancient source rock that have yet to weather away to individual mineral grains, accessory minerals are all other mineral grains in a sandstone, commonly these minerals make up just a small percentage of the grains in a sandstone
24.
Peat
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Peat, also called turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet because peatland plants capture the CO2 which is released from the peat. Sphagnum moss is one of the most common components in peat, soils that contain mostly peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding obstructs flows of oxygen from the atmosphere, Peatlands, particularly bogs, are the most important source of peat. That said, other less common types, including fens, pocosins. Landscapes covered in peat are home to specific kinds of plants including Sphagnum moss, ericaceous shrubs, because organic matter accumulates over thousands of years, peat deposits also provide records of past vegetation and climates stored in plant remains like pollen. This allows humans to reconstruct past environments and study changes in land use. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world, by volume, there are about 4 trillion cubic metres of peat in the world, covering a total of around 2% of the global land area, containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy. Over time, the formation of peat is often the first step in the formation of other fossil fuels such as coal. This is also the commonly used in the peat industry. At 106 g CO2/MJ, the carbon dioxide emission intensity of peat is higher than that of coal and natural gas, lastly, peat fires have been responsible for large public health disasters including the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions and it is composed mainly of wetland vegetation, principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water and this slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs, most modern peat bogs formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year, using Carbon-dating, scientists found that Peat in peatlands started forming 360 million years ago based on it currently containing 550 Gt of carbon. Peat material is either fibric, hemic, or sapric, fibric peats are the least decomposed and consist of intact fiber. Hemic peats are partially decomposed and sapric are the most decomposed, Phragmites peat is one composed of reed grass, Phragmites australis, and other grasses. It is denser than other types of peat
25.
Escarpment
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An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as an effect of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations. Usually escarpment is used interchangeably with scarp, but some sources differentiate the two terms, where escarpment refers to the margin between two landforms, while scarp is synonymous with a cliff or steep slope. The surface of the slope is called a scarp face. This is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side. Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes, either by differential erosion of rocks, or by vertical movement of the Earths crust along a geologic fault. Most commonly, an escarpment is a transition from one series of rocks to another series of a different age. Escarpments are also formed by faults. When a fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other and this can occur in dip-slip faults, or when a strike-slip fault brings a piece of high ground adjacent to an area of lower ground. More loosely, the term describes the zone between coastal lowlands and continental plateaus which have a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau. Earth is not the planet where escarpments occur. They are believed to occur on other planets when the crust contracts, on other Solar System bodies such as Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment. When sedimentary beds are tilted and exposed to the surface, erosion, escarpments erode gradually and over geological time. The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between a multitude of rock types and these varying levels of erosion can lead to strange features forming in the exposed rock. Kinver Edge The Lincoln Edge Stanage Edge Wenlock Edge France La Côte dOr is famous for its wines and has given its name to a département, le Pays de Bray, a clay vale enclosed by chalk escarpments
26.
Solifluction
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In geomorphology, solifluction is a gradual mass wasting slope process related to freeze-thaw activity, occurring in periglacial environments. In 1906 Johan Gunnar Andersson interpreted solifluction as a mass wasting process that occurs most commonly in colder climates where periods of freezing and thawing are regular occurrences. A type of process, solifluction describes the slow downslope movement of water-saturated sediment due to recurrent freezing and thawing of the ground. Frost heave due to ice expansion and gelifluction during thaw settlement of the ground, cause gravity-induced shear deformation of sediment. The rates of movement are highly dependent on active layer thaw depths, ice content. Solifluction rates vary dependent on season and can range from centimeters per week to centimeters per year, Solifluction landforms, such as solifluction lobes or sheets, occur over large shallow sloping areas and are one of the most widespread periglacial landforms. Lobes, on average, can be 30–50 m wide, Solifluction lobes move most quickly in the center of the mass, and slower around the edges causing larger amounts of sediment to accumulate around the edges. When many lobes are in sequence, the appearance is like a staircase in profile, over-saturation is caused when an abundant amount of fluid is formed during thaw and cannot filter through the frozen ground underneath. The saturated material then begins to flow, having the consistency of wet concrete, landscapes that have been a product of solifluction have been described as having the consistency of thick porridge. Solifluction is a form of ice-mediated creep, in temperate and tundra region, soil flows occur when the surface layers of frozen ground thaw in spring. Soil and rock debris lubricated by the melt-water flow easily over the underlying frozen subsoil, in areas of peat soils, the peat absorbs much moisture. However, if saturation point is reached the peaty soil may flow downslope, in Ireland such flows are known as bog-bursts. Other factors in solifluction are, sparse vegetation, snow melt, Solifluction should not be confused with earthflow, which is a much more rapid process. It was suggested that solifluction might be active on Mars, even relatively recently, Solifluction, a Component of Subaërial Denudation, The Journal of Geology, Vol.14, No. Easterbrook, Don J. Surface Processes and Landforms, upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall,1999 Solifluction Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web.10 Oct.2013 Stone run Frost weathering
27.
Blockfield
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A blockfield felsenmeer, boulder field or stone field is a surface covered by boulder- or block-sized angular rocks usually associated with alpine and subpolar climates and periglaciation. Blockfields differ from screes and talus slope in that blockfields do not apparently originate from mass wastings and they are believed to be formed by frost weathering below the surface. An alternative theory suggests that modern blockfields may have originated from chemical weathering that occurred in the Neogene when the climate was relatively warmer, following this thought the blockfields would then have been reworked by periglacial action. Most known blockfields are located in the northern hemisphere, all examples except the first one are outside present day subpolar climate areas, and have thus traditionally been seen as relict landforms from past times when these areas were under periglaciation. The term felsenmeer comes from the German meaning sea of rock, in a felsenmeer or blockfield, freeze-thaw weathering has broken up the top layer of the rock, covering the underlying rock formation with jagged, angular boulders. Freeze-thaw or frost weathering occurs when water that is trapped along microcracks in rock expands and contracts due to fluctuations in temperature above, felsenmeers are formed in situ, meaning that they are not transported during or after their creation. Felsenmeers only form on slopes of 25° or lower, a steeper angle results in transport of the blocks due to gravity. This creates a talus slope, rather than a felsenmeer, crude sorting with boulder imbrication can occasionally be seen on the surface of felsenmeers. The depth of the field depends on the slope angle, rock types, age. However, an average for felsenmeer depth is approximately 1m. Ballantyne defines three types of profiles, Type 1 consists of boulders overlying a matrix of fines at some depth below the surface. Type 2 consists of boulders supported by a cohesionless sandy matrix that continues from the surface down through the profile, Type 3 also consists of boulders supported by a matrix, but differs from Type 2 in that the matrix consists of silt and/or clay rather than sand. Due to the requirements they are most commonly found on plateaus. Basalt and sedimentary rocks often produce larger, more numerous felsenmeers than other types of rock, felsenmeers are, typically, relatively young geomorphological features. Most felsenmeers formed during or since the last ice age, others may be pre-glacial features that survived glaciation beneath cold-based glaciers. Their specific age can be determined using surface exposure dating, a technique that works best on materials which have exposed to cosmic rays with little interference from trees or soils
28.
Last glacial period
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The last glacial period, popularly known as the Ice Age, was the most recent glacial period, which occurred from c. 110,000 – c. 11,700 years ago. This most recent glacial period is part of a pattern of glacial and interglacial periods known as the Quaternary glaciation. From this point of view, scientists consider this ice age to be merely the latest glaciation event in a larger ice age. During this last glacial period, there were changes between glacier advance and retreat. The Last Glacial Maximum, the extent of glaciation within the last glacial period, was approximately 22,000 years ago. Approximately 13,000 years ago, the Late Glacial Maximum began, around 11,700 years ago marked the beginning of the Holocene geological epoch, which includes the Holocene glacial retreat. From the point of view of archaeology, it falls in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. When the glaciation event started, Homo sapiens were confined to Africa and used tools comparable to those used by Neanderthals in western and central Eurasia, near the end of the event, Homo sapiens spread into Eurasia and Australia. The retreat of the glaciers allowed groups of Asians to migrate to the Americas, glacials, on the other hand, refer to colder phases within an ice age that separate interglacials. Thus, the end of the last glacial period is not the end of the last ice age, the end of the last glacial period was about 11,700 years ago, while the end of the last ice age has not yet come. Over the past few years the glacial-interglacial cycle has been paced by periodic variations in the Earths orbit via Milankovitch cycles which are thus the cause of ice ages. The glaciations that occurred during this period covered many areas, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The geochronological Late Pleistocene comprises the late glacial and the immediately preceding penultimate interglacial preiond, the last glaciation centered on the huge ice sheets of North America and Eurasia. Considerable areas in the Alps, the Himalaya and the Andes were ice-covered, Canada was nearly completely covered by ice, as well as the northern part of the United States, both blanketed by the huge Laurentide ice sheet. Alaska remained mostly ice free due to climate conditions. Local glaciations existed in the Rocky Mountains and the Cordilleran ice sheet and as ice fields, the maximum extent of western Siberian glaciation was reached by approximately 16, 000–15,000 BCE and thus later than in Europe. Northeastern Siberia was not covered by an ice sheet. Instead, large, but restricted, icefield complexes covered mountain ranges within northeast Siberia, according to the sediment composition retrieved from deep-sea cores there must even have been times of seasonally open waters
29.
Districts of Lesotho
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The Kingdom of Lesotho is divided into ten districts, each headed by a district administrator. Each district has a known as a camptown. The districts are subdivided into 80 constituencies, which consist of 129 local community councils. Most of the districts are named after their capitals, hlotse, the capital of Leribe District is also known as Leribe. Conversely, the Berea District is sometimes called Teyateyaneng, based on its capital, ISO 3166-2, LS Census data by administrative division
30.
District
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A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by local government. Across the world, areas known as districts vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions of municipalities, school district, in Afghanistan, a district is a subdivision of a province. There are almost 400 districts in the country, electoral districts are used in state elections. Districts were also used in several states as cadastral units for land titles, some were used as squatting districts. New South Wales had several different types of districts used in the 21st century, in Austria, a district is an administrative division normally encompassing several municipalities, roughly equivalent to the Landkreis in Germany. The administrative office of a district, the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, is headed by a Bezirkshauptmann, while there are matters of administrative law the municipalities themselves are in charge of, or where there are special bodies, the district is the basic unit of general administration in Austria. Officials on the level are not elected, but appointed by the state government. There are also independent cities in Austria and they are called Statutarstadt in Austrian administrative law. These urban districts do have the same tasks as a normal district, the State of Vienna, which is at the same time a municipality, is also subdivided in twenty-three districts, which, however, have a somewhat different function than in the rest of the country. Legally, the Magistratisches Bezirksamt is an office of the municipalitys administration. However, representatives on the level are elected, and they in turn elect the head of the district. Those representative bodies are supposed to serve as immediate contacts for the locals on the political, in practice, they have some power, e. g. concerning matters of traffic. Bangladeshi districts are administrative units. In all, there are 64 districts in Bangladesh, originally, there were 21 greater districts with several subdivisions in each district. In 1984, the government made all these subdivisions into districts, each district has several sub districts called Upazila in Bengali. In Belgian municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on initiative of the local council, as such, only Antwerp, having over 460,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, a level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. Bhutanese districts are administrative units consisting of village blocks called gewog
31.
Berea District
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For the city mentioned in the Bible, see Berea. Berea is a district of Lesotho, in the west, Berea borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on the districts, Leribe District in the north, Thaba-Tseka District in southeast. Teyateyaneng is the capital of the district and it is also home to the Kome Cave Dwellings. It is also the district in Lesotho which is not named after its capital. As of 2006, the district had a population of 250,006 which was 13.32 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 2,222 which was 7.32 per cent of the area of the country. As of 2008, there were 48 per cent economically active people in the district, there were totally 53,126 employed people out of a total of 100,776 people in the district above 15 years of age. The total area planted in 2009 was 25,303 which formed 6.27 per cent of the area planted in the country. As of 2006, the district had a population of 250,006,13.32 per cent of the population of the country, the area of the district was 2,222,7.32 per cent of the country. The population density was 113.00 persons per square kilometre, there were ten constituencies and nine community councils in the district. As of 2006,625 people tested HIV positive,24.00 per cent of the countrys HIV positive population,269 of these were men,356 were women. In the west, Berea borders on the Free State Province of South Africa, domestically, it borders on the following districts, Leribe District in the north, Thaba-Tseka District in southeast and Maseru District in the south. The Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m 1,800 m above the sea level and these lands are the major agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm, most of which is received during the season of October to April. Though it rains during all the months of the year, groundwater is limited on account of run-offs, the region has a temperate climate on account of the elevation and is humid during most parts of the year. The temperature in low lands vary from 32 °C to −7 °C in the winter, as of 2008, there were 53,126 economically active people in the district. There were totally 53,126 employed people out of a total of 100,776 people in the district above 15 years of age
32.
Butha-Buthe District
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Butha-Buthe is a district of Lesotho. Butha-Buthe is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district, in the north, Butha-Buthe borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on Mokhotlong District in southeast and Leribe District on the south, as of 2006, the district had a population of 110,320 which was 5.88 per cent of the total population of the country. The total area of the district was 1,767 which was 5.82 per cent of the area of the country. As of 2008, there were 49 per cent economically active people in the district, there were totally 71,012 employed people out of a total of 154,384 people in the district above 15 years of age. The total are planted in 2009 was 7,164 which formed 1.77 per cent of the area planted in the country. As of 2006, the district had a population of 110,320,5.88 per cent of the population of the country, the area of the district was 1,767,5.82 per cent of the country. The population density was 62 persons per kilometre, same as the country as a whole. There were five constituencies and ten community councils in the district, as of 2006,323 persons tested HIV positive,20.20 per cent of the countrys HIV positive population. 128 of these were men,195 were women, in the north, Butha-Buthe borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on Mokhotlong District in southeast and Leribe District on the south and it is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude. The Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m 1,800 m above the sea level and these lands are the major agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm, most of which is received during the season of October to April. Though it rains during all the months of the year, groundwater is limited on account of run-offs, the region has a temperate climate on account of the elevation and is humid during most parts of the year. The temperature in low lands vary from 32 °C to −7 °C in the winter, as of 2008, there were 49 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 71,012 employed people out of a total of 154,384 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 1,232 out of a total of 43,674 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 180.50. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 836 and the number of people in other sectors was 396
33.
Leribe District
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Leribè is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,828 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 298,352, Hlotse is the capital or camptown of the district. The district has one town, namely Maputsoe. In the west, Leribe borders on the Free State Province of South Africa, domestically, it borders Butha-Buthe District in the north, Mokhotlong District in the east, Thaba-Tseka District in southeast and Berea District in southwest. As of 2006, the district had a population of 293,369 which was 15.63 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 2,828 which was 9.32 per cent of the area of the country. As of 2008, there were 48 per cent economically active people in the district, there were totally 191,052 employed people out of a total of 401,258 people in the district above 15 years of age. As of 2006, the district had a population of 293,369,15.63 per cent of the population of the country, the area of the district was 2,828,9.32 per cent of the country. The population density in the district was 104.00 persons per square kilometre, there were thirteen constituencies and eighteen community councils in the district. As of 2006,704 people tested HIV positive,29.70 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country,270 of these were men,433 were women. In the west, Leribe borders on the Free State Province of South Africa, domestically, it borders on the following districts, Butha-Buthe District in the north, Mokhotlong District in the east, Thaba-Tseka District in southeast and Berea District in southwest. The Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m 1,800 m above the sea level and these lands are the major agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm, most of which is received during the season of October to April. Though it rains during all the months of the year, groundwater is limited on account of run-offs, the region has a temperate climate on account of the elevation and is humid during most parts of the year. The temperature in low lands vary from 32 °C to −7 °C in the winter, as of 2008, there were 48 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 191,052 employed people out of a total of 401,258 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 4,658 out of a total of 114,078 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 189.30. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 3,676
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Mafeteng District
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Mafeteng is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,119 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 193,682, Mafeteng is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district. In the west, Mafeteng borders on the Free State Province of South Africa, domestically, it borders on the following districts Maseru District in the northeast and Mohales Hoek District in the southeast. As of 2006, the district had a population of 192,621 which was 10.26 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 2,119 which was 6.98 per cent of the area of the country. The density of population in the district was 91.00 per sq. km, as of 2008, there were 49 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 127,664 employed people out of a total of 262,454 people in the district above 15 years of age, as of 2006, the district had a population of 192,621,10.26 per cent of the population of the country. The area of the district was 2,119,6.98 per cent of the country, the population density in the district was 91.00 persons per square kilometre, compared to 62 for the country. There were nine constituencies and twelve community councils in the district, as of 2006,546 people tested HIV positive,21.60 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country. 222 of these were men,324 were women, in the west, Mafeteng borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on the following districts Maseru District in the northeast, the Western districts of Lesotho has predominantly low land zone with an elevation of 1,500 m 1,800 m above the sea level. These lands are the agricultural zones in the country. The average annual rainfall in the country is 100 cm, most of which is received during the season of October to April. Though it rains during all the months of the year, groundwater is limited on account of run-offs, the region has a temperate climate on account of the elevation and is humid during most parts of the year. The temperature in low lands vary from 32 °C to −7 °C in the winter, as of 2008, there were 49 per cent economically active people in the district. There were totally 127,664 employed people out of a total of 262,454 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 2,372 out of a total of 75,748 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 193.50. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 1,866
35.
Maseru District
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Maseru is a district of Lesotho. Maseru is also the name of the capital, and is the only city in the district. It is the largest urban area in the country, and therefore the only city, the city of Maseru is located on Lesothos western border with the Free State Province of South Africa, the frontier being the Caledon River. Maseru borders on Berea District in north, Thaba-Tseka District in the east, Mohales Hoek District in south, as of 2006, the district had a population of 431,998 which was 23.02 per cent of the total population of the country. The total area of the district was 4,279 which was 14.10 per cent of the area of the country. The density of population in the district was 101.00 per sq. km, as of 2008, there were 52 economically active people in the district. There were totally 294,062 employed people out of a total of 585,770 people in the district above 15 years of age, as of 2006, the district had a population of 431,998,23.02 per cent of the population of the country. The area of the district was 4,279,14.10 per cent of the country, the population density was 101.00 persons per square kilometre, compared to the 62 for the country. There were eighteen constituencies and twenty-three community counciles in the district, as of 2006,1318 people tested HIV positive,25.50 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country. 522 of these were men,796 were women, as of 2008, there were 52 economically active people in the district. There were totally 294,062 employed people out of a total of 585,770 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 2,454 out of a total of 157,714 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 197.80. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 1,380. The number of unemployed people in the district was 90,050, the total are planted in 2009 was 20,998 which formed 5.20 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 10,773 tonnes, which was 7.15 per cent of the totals in the country, the major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 8,891 tonnes, beans was 120 tonnes, sorghum was 066 tonnes, peas was 1,066 tonnes and wheat was 630 tonnes as of 2008. As of 2007, there were a total of 391 km of paved roads in the district, the city of Maseru is located on Lesothos western border with the Free State Province of South Africa, the frontier being the Caledon River. Maseru borders on the districts, namely, Berea District in north, Thaba-Tseka District in the east, Mohales Hoek District in south
36.
Mokhotlong District
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Mokhotlong district is a district of Lesotho. It includes the highest terrain in the Maloti Range and the source of the Senqu River, Mokhotlong is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district. Mokhotlong borders on the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, with its north point bordering the Free State Province, domestically, it borders on Butha-Buthe District in northwest, Leribe District in west, and Thaba-Tseka District in the south. As of 2006, the district had a population of 97,713 which was 5.21 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 4,075 which was 13.42 per cent of the area of the country. The density of population in the district was 24.00 per sq. km, as of 2008, there were 36 economically active people in the district. There were totally 66,290 employed people out of a total of 134, the total are planted in 2009 was 16,420 which formed 4.07 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 8,757 tonnes, which was 5.82 per cent of the totals in the country, as of 2006, the district had a population of 97,7135.21 per cent of the population of the country. The area of the district was 4,075,13.42 per cent of the country, the population density was 24.00 persons per square kilometre, compared to 62 for the country. There were four constituencies and fifteen community councils in the district, as of 2006,250 people tested HIV positive,17.70 of the HIV positive persons in the country. 97 of these were men,153 were women, as of 2008, there were 36 economically active people in the district. There were totally 66,290 employed people out of a total of 134, the employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 4,042 out of a total of 37,468 people in the district in the age group. The labour force participation stood at 181.10, the number of people involved in subsistence agriculture is 2,958 and the number of people in other sectors was 1,084. The number of unemployed people in the district was 14,382, the total are planted in 2009 was 16,420 which formed 4.07 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 8,757 tonnes, which was 5.82 per cent of the totals in the country, the major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 6,508 tonnes, beans was 877 tonnes, sorghum was 355 tonnes, peas was 178 tonnes, in the east, Mokhotlong borders on the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, with its north point bordering the Free State Province. Domestically, it borders on the districts, namely, Butha-Buthe District in northwest, Leribe District in west. It is traversed by the line of equal latitude and longitude
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Qacha's Nek District
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Qachas Nek is a district of Lesotho. Qachas Nek is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district, in the south, Qachas Nek borders on the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and it has a short border with KwaZulu-Natal Province in the far east. Domestically, it borders on Quthing District in southwest, Mohales Hoek District in west, as of 2006, the district had a population of 69,749 which was 3.72 per cent of the total population of the country. The total area of the district was 2,349 which was 7.74 per cent of the area of the country. The density of population in the district was 30.00 per sq. km, as of 2008, there were economically active people in the district. There were totally 53,126 employed people out of a total of 100,776 people in the district above 15 years of age, the total are planted in 2009 was 10,168 which formed 2.52 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 3,278 tonnes, which was 2.18 per cent of the totals in the country, as of 2006, the district had a population of 69,749,3.72 per cent of the population of the country. The area of the district was 2,349,7.74 per cent of the country, the population density in the district was 30.00 persons per square kilometre, compared to 62 for the country. There were three constituencies and size community councils in the district, as of 2006,168 people tested HIV positive,20.60 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country. 69 of these were men,99 were women, as of 2008, there were economically active people in the district. There were totally 53,126 employed people out of a total of 100,776 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 968 out of a total of 27,368 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 192.90. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 830 and the number of people in other sectors was 138. The number of unemployed people in the district was 11,280, the total are planted in 2009 was 10,168 which formed 2.52 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 3,278 tonnes, which was 2.18 per cent of the totals in the country, the major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 2,567 tonnes, beans was 200 tonnes, sorghum was 001 tonnes, peas was 102 tonnes and wheat was 408 tonnes as of 2008. As of 2007, there were a total of 137 km of paved roads in the district, in the south, Qachas Nek borders on the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and it has a short border with KwaZulu-Natal Province in the far east. Domestically, it borders on the districts, namely, Quthing District in southwest, Mohales Hoek District in west
38.
Quthing District
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Quthing is a district of Lesotho. Moyeni, is the town or capital of the district. There are two of the most important sets of footprints in the region. There is a panel of Bushman paintings at Qomoqomong. Quthing district is home to the Masitise Cave House, a location of the Morija Museum & Archives. In the southwest, south and east, Quthing borders on the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, domestically, it borders Mohales Hoek District in the north and Qachas Nek District in the northeast. As of 2006, the district had a population of 124,048 which was 6.61 per cent of the population of the country. The total area of the district was 2,916 which was 9.61 per cent of the area of the country. As of 2008, there were 42 economically active people in the district, there were totally 62,602 employed people out of a total of 140,057 people in the district above 15 years of age. As of 2006, the district had a population of 124,048,6.61 per cent of the population of the country, the total area of the district was 2,916,9.61 per cent of the country. The population density in the district was 43.00 persons per square kilometre, there were five constituencies and ten community councils in the district. As of 2006,312 people tested HIV positive,23.20 per cent of the HIV-positive persons in the country,115 of these were men,198 were women. As of 2008, there were 42 economically active people in the district, there were totally 62,602 employed people out of a total of 140,057 people in the district above 15 years of age. The employed population in the age group of 6-14 years was 1,828 out of a total of 41,972 people in the district in the age group, the labour force participation stood at 185.10. The number of involved in subsistence agriculture is 1,388. The number of unemployed people in the district was 23,308, the total are planted in 2009 was 7,543 which formed 1.87 per cent of the total area planted in the country. The total production was 3,533 tonnes, which was 2.35 per cent of the totals in the country, the major crop was maize, while wheat, sorghum, beans and peas were the other crops planted. The total production of maize was 2,298 tonnes, beans was 280 tonnes, sorghum was 012 tonnes, peas was 775 tonnes and wheat was 168 tonnes as of 2008
