Make a donation
Africa topographic map
Click on the map to display elevation.
Make a donation
Africa
Africa's topography is a complex tapestry of plateaus, mountains, valleys, and deserts. The continent is dominated by vast plateaus, with elevations averaging around 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), especially prominent in the south and east. The Ethiopian Highlands, often referred to as the "Roof of Africa," rise to formidable heights, with peaks such as Ras Dejen reaching 4,550 meters (14,928 feet). The Great Rift Valley, a significant geological feature, stretches from the Red Sea down to Mozambique, creating deep depressions hosting some of Africa's largest lakes, including Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, and marked by volcanic mountains such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest point at 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) and Mount Kenya. In the northwest, the Atlas Mountains extend through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, with Mount Toubkal standing as the range's highest point at 4,167 meters (13,671 feet). Contrasting these elevations, the Sahara Desert sprawls across North Africa, characterized by expansive sand dunes and rocky plateaus. The southern part of Africa includes the Kalahari Desert and the Drakensberg Mountains, which rise steeply from the plains. This diverse terrain influences the continent's climate, biodiversity, and human settlements.
Make a donation
About this map
Name: Africa topographic map, elevation, terrain.
Location: Africa (-13.49757 -7.24219 36.50243 42.75781)
Average elevation: 462 m
Minimum elevation: -415 m
Maximum elevation: 4,436 m
Make a donation
Other topographic maps
Click on a map to view its topography, its elevation and its terrain.
South Africa
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
Make a donation
KwaZulu-Natal
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
Roodepoort
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,593 m
Stellenbosch
South Africa > Western Cape > Cape Winelands District Municipality > Stellenbosch Local Municipality
Stellenbosch is 53 km (33 mi) east of Cape Town via National Route N1. Stellenbosch is in a hilly region of the Cape Winelands, and is sheltered in a valley at an average elevation of 136 m (446 ft), flanked on the west by Papegaaiberg (Afrikaans: Parrot Mountain), which is actually a hill. To the south is…
Average elevation: 287 m
Make a donation
Gauteng
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
Buffalo River
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality > East London
Average elevation: 120 m
Make a donation
Etwatwa
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,611 m
Mogalakwena River
South Africa > Limpopo > Waterberg District Municipality > Mogalakwena Local Municipality > Sekgakgapeng
Average elevation: 1,171 m
Thyspunt
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Sarah Baartman District Municipality > Kouga Local Municipality
Average elevation: 82 m
Make a donation
KwaNobuhle
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 86 m
Make a donation
City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
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
Table Mountain
South Africa > Western Cape > City of Cape Town > Cape Town
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
Western Cape
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
Make a donation
Free State
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
Hex River
South Africa > North West > Bojanala Platinum District Municipality > Rustenburg
Average elevation: 1,209 m
Stellenbosch Local Municipality
South Africa > Western Cape > Cape Winelands District Municipality
Average elevation: 431 m
Buffalo City Ward 19
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality > East London
Average elevation: 57 m
Make a donation
Komati River
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
Apies River
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,224 m
Daveyton
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,613 m
Jukskei River
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,528 m
Make a donation
Umgeni River
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 342 m
Mpumalanga
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
Danville
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality > Pretoria
Average elevation: 1,351 m
Make a donation
Vaal Dam
South Africa > Free State > Fezile Dabi District Municipality > Metsimaholo Local Municipality > Deneysville
Average elevation: 1,481 m
Make a donation
Mogalakwena River
South Africa > Limpopo > Waterberg District Municipality > Mokopane
Average elevation: 1,095 m
Orange River
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
Make a donation
Kanyamazane
South Africa > Mpumalanga > Ehlanzeni District Municipality > Mbombela
Average elevation: 637 m
Make a donation
Wolkberg Forest Wilderness Area
South Africa > Limpopo > Capricorn District Municipality > Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,240 m
Thokoza Park
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality > Soweto
Average elevation: 1,604 m
Nahoon River
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 295 m
Make a donation
Mandeni Local Municipality
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > iLembe District Municipality
Average elevation: 121 m
Makhado Local Municipality
South Africa > Limpopo > Vhembe District Municipality
Average elevation: 846 m
Make a donation
Kowie River
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Sarah Baartman District Municipality > Ndlambe Local Municipality > Port Alfred
Average elevation: 57 m
Lydenburg
South Africa > Mpumalanga > Ehlanzeni District Municipality > Thaba Chweu Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,424 m
Bronkhorstspruit Dam
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 1,462 m
Make a donation
Madibeng Local Municipality
South Africa > North West > Bojanala Platinum District Municipality
Average elevation: 1,147 m
Midvaal Local Municipality
South Africa > Gauteng > Sedibeng District Municipality
Average elevation: 1,531 m
Make a donation
Nzhelele
South Africa > Limpopo > Vhembe District Municipality > Makhado Local Municipality
Average elevation: 675 m
Driekoppies Dam
South Africa > Mpumalanga > Ehlanzeni District Municipality > Nkomazi > Schulzendal
Average elevation: 355 m
KwaZulu-Natal
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
Make a donation
Gariep Dam
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Joe Gqabi District Municipality > Gariep Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,276 m
King Williams Town Nature Reserve
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality > Qonce
Average elevation: 482 m
Make a donation
Nahoon River
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality > KuGompo City
Average elevation: 53 m
UNESCO Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
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
Motherwell
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
Average elevation: 67 m
Make a donation
Wilgerfontein River
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > uMgungundlovu District Municipality > Msunduzi Local Municipality > Edendale
Average elevation: 781 m
Homestead Lake
South Africa > Gauteng > City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality > Benoni
Average elevation: 1,649 m
Baakens River
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality > Gqeberha
Average elevation: 108 m
Make a donation
Msunduzi
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > Umkhanyakude District Municipality > Mtubatuba Local Municipality
Average elevation: 41 m
Make a donation
Breede River
South Africa > Western Cape > Cape Winelands District Municipality > Langeberg Local Municipality
Average elevation: 170 m
Umbilo River
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality > Pinetown
Average elevation: 337 m
Great Kei Local Municipality
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Amathole District Municipality
Average elevation: 295 m
Make a donation
Bass Lake
South Africa > Gauteng > Sedibeng District Municipality > Midvaal Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,473 m
Sharpeville
South Africa > Gauteng > Sedibeng District Municipality > Emfuleni Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,459 m
Sand River
South Africa > Free State > Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality > Dihlabeng Local Municipality
Average elevation: 1,615 m
Nongoma Local Municipality
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > Zululand District Municipality
Average elevation: 448 m
Make a donation
uThukela
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > King Cetswayo District Municipality > uMlalazi Local Municipality
The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Drakensberg Mountains at an elevation of almost 11,000 feet and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls. The Mont-aux-Sources is also the origin of tributaries of two other major South African rivers, the Orange and the Caledon River. From the Drakensberg range,…
Average elevation: 238 m
Molweni River
South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal > eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality > Forest Hills
Average elevation: 227 m
Make a donation
Peddie
South Africa > Eastern Cape > Amathole District Municipality > Ngqushwa Local Municipality
Average elevation: 331 m
Ventersdorp Local Municipality
South Africa > North West > Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality
Average elevation: 1,488 m
Jane Furse Memorial Lake
South Africa > Limpopo > Sekhukhune District Municipality > Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality > Mashadi
Average elevation: 1,393 m
Make a donation
