South Africa - Provinces
South Africa is divided into nine provinces. Each province comprises groupings of magisterial districts. The outer boundaries of the provinces therefore coincide with the outer boundaries of the magisterial districts in the various provinces. Some of these boundaries follow rivers or other geographic features, but the most suitable boundary delineation from an environmental point of view, is the watershed boundary, also known as a catchment boundary. The reason for this is that environmental resources such as water, and control measures such as pollution control, can be more effectively managed within a single catchment.
The Eastern Cape lies along the eastern and southern coast of South Africa, bordering KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho to the north. The Free State also lies to the north across the Orange River, and the Northern Cape lies to the north-west of the escarpment which form that boundary with the Eastern Cape. To the west the Eastern Province is bordered by the Western Cape along a cadastral boundary with the Kouga and the Witteberge in the south.
The mountainous area on the northern border forms part of the Great Escarpment. Another part of the escarpment lies just north of Bisho, Somerset East and Graaff-Reinet. In the south of the province the Cape Folded Mountains start between East London and Port Elizabeth and continue westward into the Western Cape. Like KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape is characterised by a large number of short, deeply incised rivers flowing parallel to each other.
The Free State borders six of the other provinces, the exception being the Northern Province and the Western Cape. To the east it has an international boundary with Lesotho and the escarpment seperates it from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The Orange and Vaal Rivers form the southern, western and most of the northern boundary and the last section of the northeastern boundary is formed by the Klip River.
The western part of the Free State consists of plains, with pans as an important hydrological feature. The eastern part is mountainous. The Malutis along the Lesotho border is connected to the Drakensberg on the border with KwaZulu-Natal. The Free State is almost treeless, consisting mainly of grassveld with some Karoo vegetation in the south.
Gauteng, the smallest of the provinces in geographical area, lies in the northern part of the country between the Northern Province to the north, Mpumalanga to the east, the Free State to the south and the North West Province to the west. All the boundaries of Gauteng are cadastral, except for the border with the Free State which runs along the Vaal River.
Gauteng is the smallest as well as the most urbanised and industrialised province. The topography consists of hills, ridges and undulating plains. There are no mountains apart from the more modest western end of the Magaliesberg, which starts in the northern suburbs of Pretoria. The Witwatersrand, which stretches from Krugersdorp, through Johannesburg and past Benoni, forms an important watershed. On the one side drainage takes place southwards and westward towards the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other side northwards to reach the Indian Ocean.
KwaZulu-Natal is one of four provinces boasting a coastal boundary, and its Indian Ocean boundary runs along the entire eastern side. Swaziland and Mpumalanga lie to the north, and above the escarpment to the west the province borders on the Free State and the independent Kingdom of Lesotho. The Eastern Cape lies to the south across the Mtamvuna River, with a small part of this province being inside KwaZulu-Natal as an island.
KwaZulu-Natal can be described as a province of contrasts. The topography differs from mountains and hills to a coastal plain which broadens considerably to the north and contains important wetlands such as the St Lucia System, Lake Sibayi and the Kosi Bay System. The vegetation varies from alpine veld in the high-lying areas of the Drakensberg on the border with Lesotho to subtropical coastal forests along the Indian Ocean. A very prominent characteristic of this province is the deeply cut parallel valleys and ridges formed by a large number of short, fast-flowing rivers which can be seen as the result of a large variation in altitude over a very short distance: from Mont-aux-Sources (3282 metres), on the border with Lesotho and the Free State to sea level over a distance of just 200 kilometers.
Mpumalanga borders Mozambique and Swaziland in the east, and is separated from KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State by the Vaal River, the Klip River and the upper reaches of the Pongola, with some cadastral boundaries in between. A cadastral line zigzags along the western boundary with Gauteng and the northern boundary with the Northern Province.
Mpumalanga is characterised by a variety of environmental conditions. The southern to western part is covered by the grassland plains of the Highveld. The Great Escarpment to the northeast is even more prominent than in the Northern Province. The Lowveld in the northeast consists of savanna and, having a large number of wildlife reserves, is a very popular tourist destination. To the north-west the upper reaches of the Olifants River and the Steelpoort River (a tributary of the Olifants) form a prominent drainage pattern with a mountainous topography.
The Northern Cape borders four provinces and the sea to the west. To the north it has two international boundaries with Namibia and Botswana. Three rivers, namely the Orange River and the Molopo/Nossob Rivers, form the two northern boundaries. A cadastral boundary runs in a straight north-south line between the two sets of rivers forming the inland western boundary of the province. The eastern boundary is divided into three sections. A cadastral boundary lies between the Northern Province and the North West Province, while the Orange River and a cadastral line form the boundary with the Free State and an escarpment forms the boundary with the Eastern Province.
The Northern Cape is a rather harsh and desolated region. It has only two perennial rivers, namely the Orange and the Vaal. Isolated areas like the Richtersveld northeast of Alexander Bay, and the Kalahari Desert north of Upington, have a charm of their own. Prominent mountains occur along the western and northern borders, while the Orange River Canyon on the border with Namibia is a very interesting topographical feature.
As the name indicates, the Northern Province is the most northern province of the country, bordering on Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana. The Limpopo River forms the northern and western boundaries of this province. Along the eastern boundary, a game fence separates the Kruger National Park from Mozambique, and a cadastral line zigzags along the southern boundary to seperate the province from Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the North West Province.
Various mountainous areas are found in this province, of which the most prominent is the Drakensberg to the southeast. To the north and north-west of Thohoyandou the Soutpansberg forms another prominent mountain range. Both these mountains form part of the Great South African Escarpment. To the west of the Soutpansberg the isolated Blouberg (Blue Mountain) presents a sharp contrast with the surrounding slightly undulating plains. Other prominent mountainous areas include the Waterberg to the east and northeast of Thabazimbi and the Strydpoort Mountains to the south of Pietersburg, the capital of the Northern Province. As the name indicates, the Lowveld, which continues further southwards into Mpumalanga, forms a very prominent low-lying area to the east of the Drakensberg. The most prominent plain occurs along the western border, with a narrower plain along the eastern border.
The North West Province has to its west an international border with Botswana, which is formed by a cadastral boundary and the Molopo River. To the north and east a cadastral boundary runs between the North West Province, the Northern Province and Gauteng. The Vaal River forms the boundary of this province with the Free State.
The Magaliesberg, just south of Brits and Rustenburg is the only significant mountain range in this province. At Rustenburg the Magaliesberg curls northwards towards Pilanesberg. This feature, consisting of a remaining volcanic core which has created a concentric arrangement of low mountains, can be clearly seen on the three-dimensional map of the North West Province. The major higher-lying area of this province occurs southwest of the Magaliesberg in the direction of Lichtenburg and Klerksdorp. This higher-lying area forms part of an important central watershed which extents westward past Vryburg and links to the east with the Witwatersrand in Gauteng. The numerous pans on the plains along the border with the Free State and north-west of Wolmaranstad constitute an important hydrological feature.
Western Cape shares borders with only two provinces, namely the Eastern Cape in the east and the Northern Cape to the north. To the south lies the Indian Ocean, and to the west the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern boundary is predominantly a cadastral boundary with the Kouga and the Witteberge to the south, bordering on the coast. The province is separated from the northern province by the southern escarpment formed by the Nuweveld Mountains, Komsberg, Roggeveld Mountains, and the Cedarberg. The remainder of the northern boundary of the province is cadastral.
In the Western Cape the Cape Folded Region becomes much broader and the topography of this province is dominated by mountains. These mountain ranges, which run more or less parallel to the southern coastline, can be clearly seen on the three-dimensional map of the Western Cape. At Worcester the Cape Folded Mountains turn at an angle of ninety degrees and run parallel to the southern section of the western coastline. The area between the Cape Folded Region and the sea receives a fairly high rainfall. However, the Cape Folded Mountains form a prominent rain shadow causing a much lower rainfall on the landward side of these mountains. The area between The Cape Folded Mountains and the coastline, excluding the area west of George, is the only area in South Africa that receives winter rainfall.
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