South Africa

mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

2,798 km

16,700 sq km (2012)

Karoo Basin, Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin

Africa

prolonged droughts volcanism: the volcano that formed Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands is South Africa's only active volcano

note 1: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Eswatini note 2: sometimes mistaken for the southernmost point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope is more accurately described as the southwestern-most point of the African continent; Cape Agulhas, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is the southernmost point of the African continent

gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

note: South Africa was the World's leading chromite ore producer in 2022 with an output of 18,000 mt

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

29 00 S, 24 00 E

the population is concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria; the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west, as shown in this population distribution map

Orange (shared with Lesotho [s], and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 km; Limpoporivier (Limpopo) river source (shared with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km; Vaal [s] - 1,210 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth