CLASS XVI
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR
Trip Reports
February 15-27, 2014
South Africa
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Geography and Climate (Brent Howard, Steven McIntyre, Scott Stinnett and Jane Fuhlendorf) page 1
Agriculture (Debbie Wedel, Jennifer Jensen and Chris Hitch) page 17
Government and Military (Chris Kidd, Meriruth Cohenour, Janet Stewart and Justin Lingo) page 32
Culture and Religion (Stacy Howeth, Sandra Stevenson, Tracey Payton Miller and Jamie Cummings) page 51
Health and Education (Cheri Long, Patti Dewitt, Ginger Reimer and Dianne Jeans) page 65
Economics (Joe Gribble, Rusty Roush, Justin Whitmore and Karen Eifert Jones) page 81
Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure (Jamie Doyal, Steve Alspach and Casey Sharber) page 96
Geography, topography, climate, weather and seasons
Brent S. Howard
Geography
South Africa is the southernmost country in the continent of Africa. The country lies within 22º and 35º in southern latitude.[1] In North America, this swath of latitude would be comparable in distance from the equator to the area from Norman, Oklahoma to about 100 miles north of Mexico City.[2] You may also notice that this puts the northern tip of the country within the Tropic of Capricorn, with the remainder in a sub-tropic climate.
South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world, covering 471,445 square miles.[3] (Comparatively, the U.S. is the fourth largest country and covers 3,794,083 square miles.[4] Also, comparatively, the country of South Africa is roughly 3x the size of California, 6.75x the size of Oklahoma, or roughly the size of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii combined.[5])
South Africa is about 1,000 miles from North to South and also about 1,000 miles from east to west.[6] For our trip to South Africa, we will be traveling 9,050 miles, then, in country, we will travel another about 1,800 miles before our return trip of another 9,050 miles.[7] (During our previous eighteen months in the program, each Class member has traveled an average of 6,800 miles throughout Oklahoma, Kansas and our trip through Pennsylvania and D.C.[8] So, we will be travelling about three times the amount to and through South Africa as we have for the rest of OALP. Buckle up because we are in for a long ride.)
South Africa shares borders with six different countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and then Lesotho is wholly contained within South Africa’s borders. The border with Botswana is the longest.
South Africa has nine provinces, which in order from smallest to largest are: Gauteng (in the northeast region containing Pretoria and Johannesburg), Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, North West (not Kanye’s baby), Limpopo, Western Cape (contains Cape Town), Free State, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape (largest and least populated).[9] Over forty percent of South Africa’s population of 51.7 million people lives in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Cape Town is the country’s most populated city with a population of about 3,140,000 people in the metro area.[10] Cape Town thus has roughly the same population as Iowa.
South Africa has three capital cities: Cape Town is home of the legislative capital; Bloemfontein is home of the judicial capital; and Pretoria is the home of the administrative capital and is considered the ultimate capital of the country.[11]
Water: There are only two major rivers in South Africa: the Limpopo which runs along the border of Zimbabwe and empties in the Indian Ocean; and the Orange River, which runs through the central plateau from east to west and empties in the Atlantic Ocean.[12]
A lack of freshwater (through both rivers and rainfall), has contributed to the lack of development of the country.[13] More information on this will be provided in the section on climate.
Topography
Being that the country is the tip of Africa, there is a variety of terrain. South Africa has about 1,560 miles of coastline along the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. However, the low-lying coastal zone is very narrow for much of the distance and soon gives way to a mountainous escarpment that separates the coast from the high inland plateau.[14]
The lowest points in the country are at sea level and stretch along the coasts.
The highest point in the country is Mafadi, which is a peak on the border with Lesotho.[15] The peak is 11,320 feet in height and is the second highest point in southern Africa.[16] For comparison, this is about the height of Vail Ski Resort in central Colorado.[17]
The interior plateau consists of a series of rolling grasslands and the Kalahari Desert in the north. This central area is known as the Highveld. In the northeast it rises into a series of rock formations known as the Witwatersrand (literally, "Ridge of White Waters" in Afrikaans, commonly shortened to Rand). The Rand is a ridge of gold-bearing rock, roughly 60 miles by 23 miles. It is also the site of the world's largest proven gold deposits and the country's leading industrial city, Johannesburg.[18]
North of the Rand is a dry savanna sub-region, known as the Bushveld, characterized by open grasslands with scattered trees and bushes. Elevation varies between 2,000 feet and about 3,000 feet above sea level.[19] The Bushveld, like the Rand, houses a virtual treasure chest of minerals, one of the largest and best known layered igneous (volcanic) mineral complexes in the world. Covering an area roughly 220 miles by 90 miles, the Bushveld has extensive deposits of platinum and chromium and significant reserves of copper, fluorspar, gold, nickel, and iron.[20]
The major diamond mining for the country takes place in the Northern Cape Province near Kimberely. South Africa produced over 15,800,000 carats of diamonds in 2005.[21]
Climate
South Africa is mainly in a sub-tropical location, but because it is surrounded by cold oceans on three sides and the elevation of the central plateau, the temperature is fairly moderate and is often lower than other areas along the same latitude.[22]
South Africa is a relatively dry country with an average rainfall of only about 18 inches.[23] For comparison, in Oklahoma, you have to go Guymon to get a comparably dry area (average rainfall is 19.25 inches).[24] However, like Oklahoma, different areas get different amounts of rain. Cape Town, for example averages about 20 inches per year. Johannesburg will get about 28 inches. But the northwest central plateau may only get about 8 inches during the year.
Precipitation and Temperature in South Africa varies each month. See the table below:[25]
Month / Average Rainfall(inches) / Average Temp (ºF) (H/L)January / 2.55 / 86º /73º
February / 2.46 / 86º /73º
March / 2.28 / 86º /70º
April / 1.49 / 81º /63º
May / 0.69 / 77º /54º
June / 0.61 / 75º /46º
July / 0.50 / 73º /46º
August / 0.67 / 79º /52º
September / 0.78 / 84º /61º
October / 1.58 / 84º /64º
November / 2.10 / 90º /70º
December / 2.19 / 86º /72º
For the most part, December, January and February are the wettest months, characterized by torrential downpours (monsoons) in the northeastern savannahs. Temperatures will get around 95º as a high, with very high humidity.
The Western Cape is the exception to the rainfall amounts above, as it gets its main precipitation in the winter months of May through August.
Along the Orange River in Northern Cape, there are sufficient water wells to feed irrigation systems and the area along the River can be seen as oases on satellite reviews.
Climatic conditions vary noticeably between east and west, largely in response to the warm Agulhas ocean current, which sweeps southward along the Indian Ocean coastline in the east for several months of the year, and the cold Benguela current, which sweeps northward along the Atlantic Ocean coastline in the west. Air temperatures in Durban, on the Indian Ocean, average nearly 10º F warmer than temperatures at the same latitude on the Atlantic Ocean coast. The effects of these two currents can be seen even at the narrow peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope, where water temperatures average 7.5º F higher on the east side than on the west.[26]
Geography and Climate of Area of Travels
Scott Stinnett
South Africa is the most southern country on the continent of Africa. It is bordered on the north by (from west to east) Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. A Unique feature is the country of Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa. The southern border is the Atlantic Ocean on the west and Indian Ocean on the east. It is located in the Southern Hemisphere and shares a similar climate to cities such as Sydney, Australia and Santiago, Chile.
The geography varies from coastal to mountainous with several types of velds. Veld is the Afrikaans word for field and describes a shrub and grassland area. Velds are further defined by other factors such as altitude (Highveld, Lowveld) and vegetation (Bushveld, Thornveld).
The climate also varies. The majority of the country 47.4% is considered desert or arid, receiving less than 400mm of annual rainfall. Semi-arid to sub-humid makes up 43.1% of the country receiving 400-800mm of annual rainfall. Only a small portion, 9.5%, is humid to super humid receiving 800mm or more of annual rainfall.
Temperatures are variable based on elevation and distance from the ocean. Desert areas can be extreme with highs 32°C or more in summer with winter lows of 0°-2°C. Inland higher elevation areas can average 26°-28°C during summer and then be average a low of 0°-2°C in winter. Coastal areas are dependent upon the flow of the ocean currents, especially in winter. The Eastern coast is influenced by the warm currents of the Indian Ocean having a mild winter lows of only 8°-10°C. Western coast areas receive cold moist air from the currents bringing air from the southern Atlantic Ocean. Though there is moisture in the air, it remains an arid area with most moisture coming ashore as fog.
Cape Town
Cape Town was first established in 1652. The Dutch East India Company used the site to resupply ships as they navigated around the southern tip of Africa. In 1781, the French built a garrison to help defend Cape Town from British invasion. Cape Town is the provincial capital of Western Cape and the legislative capital of the Republic of South Africa.
Cape Town is located at slightly above sea level, on the northern portion of a peninsula. The Cape of Good Hope is the best know geographic feature of Cape Town. It is defined by Cape Peninsula which extends south into the Atlantic Ocean. As ships and sailors come around the horn, they see a significant change in their direction of travel from mainly north and south, to east and west. The peninsula protects False Bay. The east and west shores of the bay are rocky and mountainous with several peaks over 1400 meters. The northern shore of the bay is sandy and called the Cape Flats. On the south end of Cape Peninsula is Simons Town and the Boulders Penguin Colony. The name sake boulders along the shore provide refuge for African Penguins.
Located on the north end of the Cape Peninsula is the well-known Table Mountain, which rises 1084 meters in elevation. It is highly photographed due to its location on the northern side of Cape Town and can be seen with a cloud cover that is considered its tablecloth due to its wide flat top. It is flanked by Devil’s Peak on the west and Lion’s Head on the east.
Along the northern shore of Cape Town is the smaller Table Bay. At the mouth of Table Bay is Robben Island, known as the prison Island where Nelson Mandela was held.