Topographic maps

South Africa's topography is characterized by a high central plateau, known as the Highveld, which lies at elevations between 1,200 and 1,800 meters (3,937 to 5,906 feet) above sea level. This plateau is encircled by the Great Escarpment, a prominent mountainous feature that includes the Drakensberg Mountains,…

Average elevation: 221 m

Average elevation: 143 m

Johannesburg is located in the eastern plateau area of South Africa known as the Highveld, at an elevation of 1,753 metres (5,751 ft). The former Central Business District is located on the southern side of the prominent ridge called the Witwatersrand (English: White Water's Ridge) and the terrain falls to the…

Average elevation: 1,615 m

The Cape Peninsula is 52 km long from Mouille Point in the north to Cape Point in the south, with an area of about 470 km2, and it displays more topographical variety than other similar sized areas in southern Africa, and consequently spectacular scenery. There are diverse low-nutrient soils, large rocky…

Average elevation: 53 m

Average elevation: 83 m

Average elevation: 778 m

Port Shepstone's topography is characterised by a rugged/hilly terrain with the Central Business District (CBD) lying on a large hill overlooking the Indian Ocean. Port Shepstone proper (excluding its extensions) is bordered by the uMzimkhulu River to the north and the N2 freeway to the east and is also…

Average elevation: 33 m

The Drakensberg escarpment divides Mpumalanga into a westerly half consisting mainly of high-altitude grassland called the Highveld and an eastern half situated in low-altitude subtropical Lowveld/Bushveld, mostly savanna habitat. The southern half of the Kruger National Park is in the latter region. The…

Average elevation: 1,127 m

The Free State is situated on a succession of flat grassy plains sprinkled with pastureland, resting on a general elevation of 3,800 feet only broken by the occasional hill or kopje. The rich soil and pleasant climate allow for a thriving agricultural industry. With more than 30,000 farms, which produce over…

Average elevation: 1,499 m

Gauteng's southern border is the Vaal River, which separates it from the Free State. It also borders on North West to the west, Limpopo to the north, and Mpumalanga to the east. Gauteng is the only landlocked province of South Africa without a foreign border. Most of Gauteng is on the Highveld, a high-altitude…

Average elevation: 1,405 m

Average elevation: 37 m

The province is topographically exceptionally diverse. Most of the province falls within the Cape Fold Belt, a set of nearly parallel ranges of sandstone folded mountains of Cambrian-Ordovician age (the age of the rocks is from 510 to about 330 million years ago; their folding into mountains occurred about 350…

Average elevation: 90 m

KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with a…

Average elevation: 777 m

Durbanville is situated in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, approximately 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) north-east of the city, bordered by Bellville to the south, Brackenfell to the south-east and Kraaifontein to the east. It lies at an altitude of between 100 m (328 ft) to 240 m (787 ft), in the vast rolling…

Average elevation: 157 m

Average elevation: 100 m

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Average elevation: 968 m

The Orange rises in the Drakensberg mountains along the border between South Africa and Lesotho, about 193 km (120 mi) west of the Indian Ocean and at an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The extremity of the Orange River inside Lesotho is known as the Senqu. Parts of the Senqu River freeze in winter…

Average elevation: 966 m

Average elevation: 1,266 m

The river originates west of Carolina, rising at an elevation of about 1,800 m (5,906 ft) near Breyten in the Ermelo district of the Mpumalanga province. It flows in a general northeasterly direction and reaches the Indian Ocean at Maputo Bay, after a course of some 800 km (497 mi).

Average elevation: 477 m

KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with a…

Average elevation: 950 m

Average elevation: 853 m

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Average elevation: 1,438 m

Pretoria is situated approximately 55 km (34 mi) north-northeast of Johannesburg in the northeast of South Africa, in a transitional belt between the plateau of the Highveld to the south and the lower-lying Bushveld to the north. It lies at an altitude of about 1,339 m (4,393 ft) above sea level, in a warm,…

Average elevation: 1,363 m

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Ekurhuleni lies on the highveld plateau at about 1600 metres in altitude above sea level (asl). The highest elevation is at the Gillooly's Ridge – Bill Stewart Side – Fisher's Hill at 1772 metres asl. The lowest point is at 1552 metres asl. The city is rich in wetlands, pans, streams and rivers. The city…

Average elevation: 1,588 m

Average elevation: 10 m

Table Mountain is at the northern end of a sandstone mountain range that forms the spine of the Cape Peninsula that terminates approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) to the south at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. Immediately to the south of Table Mountain is a rugged "plateau" at a somewhat lower elevation…

Average elevation: 583 m

Average elevation: 1,606 m

Average elevation: 358 m

The area chosen for the capital had been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for up to 21,000 years, with the principal group being the Ngunnawal people. European settlement commenced in the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by surviving landmarks such as St John's Anglican Church and Blundells…

Average elevation: 638 m

Average elevation: 11 m

Average elevation: 1,327 m

Average elevation: 1,305 m

The type of rock of the reef is of some importance, as it influences the range of possibilities for the local topography, which in turn influences the range of habitats provided, and therefore the diversity of inhabitants. Sandstone and other sedimentary rocks erode and weather very differently, and depending…

Average elevation: 2 m

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Being a coastal strip, the topography generally falls towards the coast and is segmented by many water courses (streams/rivers) resulting in numerous hills and valleys as well as very flat areas along the coast.

Average elevation: 458 m

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The Richtersveld is a desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in the north-western corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat, sandy, coastal plains, to craggy sharp mountains of volcanic rock and the lushness of the Orange…

Average elevation: 394 m

Average elevation: 772 m

Average elevation: 325 m

Average elevation: 1,041 m

The reserve includes a variety of landscapes including slopes, cliffs, crests, kloofs, rivers, wetlands and valleys. Although the area covers a diverse geological area, it consists mainly of the Magaliesberg mountain complex comprising two geological formations: the Transvaal System and the Bushveld Igneous…

Average elevation: 1,366 m

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Average elevation: 262 m

Average elevation: 800 m