Botswana - Geography

The Republic of Botswana is a large, roughly circular, landlocked plateau in the centre of Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Area: 582,000 sq km

Main towns: Gaborone (capital, pop. 214,400 in 2006), Francistown (91,800), Molepolole (65,600), Selebi–Phikwe (54,700), Maun (51,600), Serowe (48,700), Mogoditshane (46,500), Kanye (45,800), Mahalapye (45,700), Mochudi (43,100), Palapye (31,800), Lobatse (31,200), Tlokweng (26,800), Ramotswa (21,600). Most of Botswana’s main settlements are in the south-east of the country.

Topography: The average elevation of the country is 1,000m. To the south-east are hills, the highest being 1,491m Otse Mountain near Lobatse. In the north-west are the Tsodilo Hills, famous for rock-paintings. Also in the north-west, the Okavango river flows into an enormous inland delta, home of a great variety of wildlife. To the north-east is the salt desert of the Makgadikgadi Pans. However, about 85% of the country consists of the tableland of the Kalahari desert, a vast sandveld.

Climate: Botswana lies across the Tropic of Capricorn. The climate ranges from semi-arid through subtropical to temperate. Eastern Botswana is temperate, with enough rainfall to support arable farming, but rainfall decreases and temperature range increases westwards and southwards. Summer (October to April) is the rainy season and is very hot. Rainfall varies from 650mm per annum in the east to 230mm in the south-west. May to October is usually dry. In winter the nights can be cold and sometimes frosty, especially in the desert. Mean maximum temperature at Gaborone is 32.5°C. From August, annual seasonal winds cross the Kalahari from the west, raising dust and sandstorms.

Environment: The most significant environmental issues are overgrazing, desertification and limited resources of fresh water.

Vegetation: Mostly dry savannah with grasslands and thornbush to semi-desert and some true desert. Acacia, bloodwood and Rhodesian teak trees in the forest in the north-west. Forest covers 21% of the land area, having declined at 0.9% p.a. 1990–2005. Arable land comprises 0.7% of the total land area.

Wildlife: Wildlife is protected in the three national parks and five game reserves, extending to 105,000 sq km or 18.5% of the total land area. The Okavango Delta supports a world-famous variety of water-birds and attracts thousands of animals in the dry season. The Chobe National Park, also in the north, has more than 50,000 elephants. The Gemsbok National Park abuts South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok NP, which together make one of the world’s biggest wilderness regions. The country has recorded 164 species of mammals, six of which are threatened with extinction.

Transport: There are 25,230km of roads, 35% paved. The north–south highway links South Africa with Zambia. The Trans-Kalahari highway, completed in 1998, links Botswana to Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast, shortening the route between Johannesburg and the Namibian capital, Windhoek, and opening up the hitherto inaccessible western regions of the country.

The 888km railway line runs north–south along the eastern side of the country from Plumtree in Zimbabwe to the border with South Africa. Exports from Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Southern Africa use this line to reach the South African ports of Durban and Richards Bay. Local railway lines service Botswana’s mining industries.

Air services operate to several regional destinations plus regular domestic flights between Gaborone and Francistown, Maun, Selebi-Phikwe, Ghanzi, Pont Drift and Kasane.