Africa south of the Sahara

By: Frank, Anthony, and Eric

Climate

A subtropical location, moderated by ocean on three sides of the country and the altitude of the interior plateau, account for the warm temperate conditions so typical of South Africa - and so popular with its foreign visitors. South Africa is famous for its sunshine. It's a relatively dry country, with an average annual rainfall of about 464mm (compared to a world average of about 860mm).

FACTS

SummerOver much of South Africa, summer (mid-October to

mid-February) is characterized by hot sunny weather often with afternoon thunderstorms that clear quickly leaving a warm earth uniquely African smell in the air. The Western Cape with its Mediterranean climate, is the exception getting its rain in winter. Winter

In South Africa, May to July is characterized in the higher-lying areas of the interior plateau by dry, sunny, crisp days and cold nights. So it's a good idea to bring warm clothes. The warm, humid KwaZulu-Natal coast, as well as the Low Field (lower-lying areas) of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, offer fantastic winter weather with sunny, warmish days and virtually no wind or rain.The Western Cape gets most of its rain in winter, with quite a few days of cloudy, rainy weather.

FACTS

Culture

The South Asian culture is a mixed bowl of a number of different influencing societies, nationalities, ethnic traditions and cultural heritages. The sub-continent is a pot pourrie from the Western-centric perspective and is commonly divided into natural geographic and cultural regions. The region comprises North Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, South West Asia, South East Asia and the Caucasus. Interestingly, and adding to the enigma of the region, Asia is not a distinct continent, geographically.

South Asian culture comprises its art, cuisine, music, literature, philosophy, religions and the complex relationship between the common, traditional cultures. Home to Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, Confucianism and Christianity, South Asian culture is rich and varied. The nations of South Asia share an ethnic background and most of the territorial divisions have come up only in the recent past.

FACTS

Physical Features

FACTS

South Africa occupies the southern tip of the African continent stretching from 22˚ south to 35˚South latitude and from 17˚East to 33˚East longitude. The northeastern corner of the country lies within the tropics, astride the Tropic of Capricorn. South Africa covers 1.2 million square kilometers of land, one seventh the area of the United States, or roughly twice the area of Texas.

FACTS

South Africa forms a distinct region or subcontinent divided from the rest of Africa by the rivers that mark its northern border. In the north west the orange river cuts through the Namib desert and divides south Africa from Namibia. The geological substratum of the subcontinent was formed at least 3.8 billion years ago.

Government

Water taxi

Government building

Goods that are getting transported

INFO The republic of South Africa is a constitutional

democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa, who is head of state and head of government, and his or her Cabinet. The president is elected from the Parliament to serve a fixed term. South Africa's government differs greatly from those of other Commonwealth nations.

Operating at both national and provincial levels are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of co-operative governance.

MORE INFO The San people were the first settlers; the

Khoikhoi (koykoy) and Bantu-speaking tribes followed. The Dutch East India Company landed the first European settlers on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, launching a colony that by the end of the 18th century numbered only about 15,000. Known as Boers or Afrikaners, and speaking a Dutch dialect known as Afrikaans, the settlers as early as 1795 tried to establish an independent republic.

SOURCE "South Africa's weather and climate."

N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010. http://www.southafrica.info/travel/advice/climate.htm

N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010. <http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=active&q=government%20south%20of%20the%20sarah&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi>.

EVEN MORE SOURCES N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010.

<http://www.soutj-africa-tours.com/south-africa-culture.htlms.comguages>.

"Photius.com." N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010. http://www.photius.com/error.html

N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010. http://www.savenues.com/sa_langues_and_culture.htm

THAT IS ALL THE SOURCES N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr 2010.

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