So, as promised, today is a new
country: South Africa! I have not yet been to Africa, but I’m eager to go, and
South Africa is one of the countries there that I would like to visit. Here is some information on South Africa's geography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa#Geography).
South Africa is located in the
southernmost region of Africa and its coastline spans more than 1500 miles and
two oceans! (the Atlantic and Indian). The interior of the country is mostly a
vast, flat plateau. The south and southwestern parts of the plateau are known
as the Great Karoo, which is sparsely populated scrubland. North of the Great
Karoo is the dry, arid Bushmanland, and then in the very northwest of the
country is the Kalahari desert. The deep interior of South Africa has its
hottest temperatures, with the official hottest recorded temperature being
119.84F in 1993! The mid-eastern, highest part of the plateau is known as the
Highveld, and here is a relatively well-watered area that contains much of the
country’s commercial farmland. The southeast escarpment of the Highveld is
formed by the Drakensberg mountains, which have limited skiing in the winter.
The coastal belt moves from hot
and dry in the northeast to subtropically hot and humid, to dry scrub land in what is known as the
Little Karoo. A narrow coastal strip between the Cape Fold Mountain range and
the ocean has moderately high year-round rainfall and is famous for its
indigenous forests in the otherwise forest-poor country. In the southwest of
the country is the Cape Peninsula, which has a Mediterranean climate. This area
produces most of South Africa’s wine! Cape Town is located in the Cape
Peninsula and is South Africa’s legislative capital. It is also home to about
3.7 million people.
Here is a picture of the Drakensburg
mountains! More on South Africa tomorrow!
Xoxo,
Diana
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