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Geography of South Africa
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South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its coastline stretching more than 2,850 kilometres from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast southwards around the tip of Africa and
The Southern African Central Plateau edged by the Great Escarpment.
The Southern African Central Plateau edged by the Great Escarpment.
Panorama of the Giant's Castle region of the Drakensberg, the highest section of the Great Escarpment. Here the Escarpment is capped by a 1,400 m laye
Panorama of the Giant's Castle region of the Drakensberg, the highest section of the Great Escarpment. Here the Escarpment is capped by a 1,400 m layer of erosion-resistant lava, which once covered most of Southern Africa 182 million years ago. Only a small remnant of this lava layer remains on the plateau, covering only part of Lesotho, and accounting for the Great Escarpment's great height on the Lesotho/KwaZulu-Natal border.
An approximate SW-NE cross section through South Africa with the Cape Peninsula (with Table Mountain) on left, and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal on the
An approximate SW-NE cross section through South Africa with the Cape Peninsula (with Table Mountain) on left, and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal on the right. Diagrammatic and only roughly to scale. It shows the major geological structures (coloured layers) that dominate the southern and eastern parts of the country, as well as the relationship between the Central Plateau, the Cape Fold Mountains, and the Drakensberg escarpment.
A diagrammatic 400 km north–south cross-section through the southern portion of the country near Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo (approximately 21° 30'
A diagrammatic 400 km north–south cross-section through the southern portion of the country near Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo (approximately 21° 30' E), showing the relationship between the Cape Fold Mountains (and their geological structure) and the geology of the Little and Great Karoo, as well as the position of the Great Escarpment. The colour code for the geological layers is the same as those used in the diagram on the left. The heavy black line flanked by opposing arrows is the fault that runs for nearly 300
Karoo
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The Karoo is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by it
Typical Karoo vegetation to the south of Matjiesfontein, with the Anysberg Mountains visible in the background
Typical Karoo vegetation to the south of Matjiesfontein, with the Anysberg Mountains visible in the background
A view from the top of the Great Escarpment in the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West, looking south across the plains of the Lower Karoo: Note th
A view from the top of the Great Escarpment in the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West, looking south across the plains of the Lower Karoo: Note the remnants of the former extent of the central plateau on the plain below the escarpment (see diagram on the right). Also note the dolerite sills which top the escarpment and mountains in the middle distance, giving these structures their characteristic flat-topped appearance.
A stylized illustration of the Great Escarpment, based particularly on its appearance in the Great Karoo, where thick erosion resistant dolerite sills
A stylized illustration of the Great Escarpment, based particularly on its appearance in the Great Karoo, where thick erosion resistant dolerite sills (see below; represented here by the thick black lines. The thinner dolerite sills are not drawn in this diagram to avoid clutter) generally form the upper, sharp edge of the escarpment. (In other parts of the escarpment, hard erosion-resistant geological layers similarly form the upper, abrupt edge.) Note the island remnants of the earlier extent of the plateau on the plain below the escarpment (the Lower Karoo), left behind as the escarpment has gradually eroded further inland.
Farmlands along the well-watered, fertile foothills of the more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) high Swartberg Mountains (in the background) along the norther
Farmlands along the well-watered, fertile foothills of the more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) high Swartberg Mountains (in the background) along the northern strip of the Klein Karoo