South Africa Satellite Image

South Africa satellite image by the MODIS Rapid Response team, acquired on August 8, 2002. Projection: Plate Carree. Source: NASA's Visible Earth.

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South Africa has limited freshwater resources due to lack of major rivers or lakes. Pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban waste. Air pollution resulting in acid rain; deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; desertification; solid waste pollution; significant floral extinctions. Climate is mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights. Its terrain is vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain.

The highest point is Ntheledi (Mafadi) 3,450 m. South Africa's physiography has high inland plateau surrounded by coastal lowlands, separated by the Great Escarpment. This escarpment, the most prominent relief feature, forms the boundary between the plateau and the coastal plains. The interior plateau is characterized by wide plains, while the coastal region varies in width and includes features like the Cape Fold Mountains and the Great Karoo.

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