Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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desert nomads

the nomadic san of the

Kalahari in Botswana live by

gathering fruits and vegetables

and hunting springbok

and wildebeest (gnu).

490

Southern Africa 490-

the countries of southern africa are dominated by dry

savanna and woodland, with humid subtropical forests in the north

and, to the center and west, the Kalahari and namib deserts.

traditionally, agriculture has been the mainstay of these

countries’ economies, but rich mineral deposits, in particular

diamonds, uranium, copper, and iron, are being discovered

and exploited, especially in namibia, Zambia, and Botswana.

economically, the region is dominated by south africa,

with its well-developed mining industries and large cities.

Zimbabwe has reserves of coal, gold, and nickel, but the

country’s economy has been brought close to collapse by

drought and misgovernment. Both angola and

mozambique, former Portuguese colonies, have been

devastated by civil wars since independence and are only

now beginning to rebuild their

shattered economies.

uranium wealth

the largest open-pit uranium mine in the world is

located at rössing in the namib desert. the mine was

opened in 1976 by a group of British, south african,

french, and canadian companies. as well as being the

world’s fifth-largest uranium producer, namibia also

has extensive reserves of tin, lead, zinc, copper, silver,

and tungsten, and produces 30 percent of the world’s

diamond output.

namiB desert

the namib desert extends up

to 100 miles (160 km) inland along

the coast of southwest africa. sand

dunes can reach heights of 800 ft

(240 m). moisture from coastal fogs

supports some vegetation.

Bordered on the west by the

atlantic ocean, and on the east

by the indian ocean, much of

southern africa lies within the

tropics. the landscape includes

the namib and Kalahari deserts.

madagascar, the fourth-largest

island in the world, lies to the east.

Victoria falls

located on the Zambezi river,

on the border between Zimbabwe

and Zambia, the Victoria falls are

5,500 ft (1,700 m) at their widest

point, and fall to a maximum

depth of 354 ft (108 m) in the

chasm below. the huge volume

of plummeting water creates a

mighty roar, known to locals as

“the smoke that thunders,”

which can be heard 25 miles

(40 km) away. from the chasm,

the river carves a narrow gorge

before plunging into a deep pool

known as the Boiling Pot.

Gold city

founded in 1886,

Johannesburg was the

center of south africa’s

gold-mining industry

for nearly a century, and

remains the country’s chief

industrial, commercial,

manufacturing, and

financial center. Greater

Johannesburg is one of africa’s

largest cities, the heart of an

expanding highway system and

the south african rail network.

Find out more

africa

africa, history of

desert wildlife

south africa

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