!!!South Africa: Geography
||Location|Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
||Geographic Coordinates|29 00 S, 24 00 E[{GoogleMap location='-29.0,24.0' zoom='4'}]
||Area |''total: ''1,219,090 sq km\\''land: ''1,214,470 sq km\\''water: ''4,620 sq km\\''__note:__ ''includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)\\[[__''Verified in 8 databases''__]
||Land boundaries|''total: ''4,862 km\\''border countries: ''Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
||Coastline|2,798 km
||Elevation Extremes|''lowest point: ''Atlantic Ocean 0 m\\''highest point: ''Njesuthi 3,408 m
||Highest Mountains|__Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists :__\\ According to [Wolfram|http://www.wolframalpha.com]: Mafadi 3450 m; Njesuthi 3408 m; Champagne Castle 3377 m; Mont-aux-Sources 3282 m; Giant's Castle 3280 m\\According to [Geonames|http://www.geonames.org]: Mafadi 3450 m; Njesuthi 3408 m; Popple Peak 3331 m; Giant’s Castle 3315 m; Ben Macdhui 3001 m\\ \\__Attempted Explanation:__ Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to [office@global-geography.org|mailto:office@global-geography.org] \\[Important Mountains|Geography/Africa/South_Africa/Geography/Important_Mountains]
||Terrain|vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
||Natural Hazards|prolonged droughts volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano
||Natural Resource|gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
||Land Use|''arable land: ''9.87%\\''permanent crops: ''0.34%\\''other: ''89.79% (2011)
||Climate|mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
||Irrigated Land|16,700 sq km (2012)
||Renewable Water Resources|51.4 cu km (2011)
||Environment_CurrentIssues|lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
||Environment - international agreements|''party to: ''Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling\\''signed, but not ratified: ''none of the selected agreements
||Large Cities|__Due to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists :__\\According to [Wolfram|http://www.wolframalpha.com]: Johannesburg; Cape Town; Durban; Pretoria; Soweto\\According to [Geonames|http://www.geonames.org]: Cape Town; Durban; Johannesburg; Soweto; Pretoria\\\\\__Attempted Explanation:__ Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to [office@global-geography.org|mailto:office@global-geography.org] \\[Important Cities|Geography/Africa/South_Africa/Geography/Important_Cities]
||Geography-note|South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland\\[Important Lakes|Geography/Africa/South_Africa/Geography/Important_Lakes]