South Africa Topography

South Africa topography basically consists of a broad central plateau, which is surrounded by a series of escarpments on its west, south, and east side. These surrounding high, steep slopes are called the Great Escarpment. Inland from the crest of the Great Escarpment, the landscape is composed of rolling grassy plains, which gradually descend to an average altitude of about 900 m (2,952 ft) in the center. The Highveld is the highest and largest grassland region of the central plateau.

The outside the central plateau, the periphery of the escarpment consists of overlooking slopes, which pitch to the eastern, southern, and western coasts. To the east of the central plateau, there is the Drakensberg Mountain Range. To the south, there is a series of three chains of mountains; the Great Karroo Range, the Groote-Swartberge, and the Little Karroo Range, which extends along near the southern coast of the country.

South Africa features a rugged coastline, with rocky shores, sheltering a few bays and harbors. There are coral reefs off the eastern coast that surround Sodwana Bay, which attracts divers from all over the world. Meanwhile, the country is crisscrossed by three main rivers; the Orange, the Vaal, and the Limpopo River. The Vaal is the most important tributary of the Orange River, which is 2,100-km-long, flowing in eastern-western direction as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

On the east, South Africa is bordered by the Indian Ocean; on the west by the Atlantic, and on the south by both the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal belt of the west and south ranges in elevation between 150 and 180 m (500 to 600 ft). This strip of land is very fertile. In the East, on the other hand, there is very little coastal plain, where the Great Escarpment borders the central plateau as it reaches almost to the sea.

Below, a physical map of South Africa, showing the different geographical features of its topography.