Freedom Day OF South Africa

South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favoured destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid (Afrikaans: “apartness,” or racial separation) in 1994. South Africa’s remoteness—it lies thousands of miles distant from major African cities such as Lagos and Cairo and more than 6,000 miles (10,000 km) away from most of Europe, North America, and eastern Asia, where its major trading partners are located—helped reinforce the official system of apartheid for a large part of the 20th century. With that system, the government, controlled by the minority white population, enforced segregation between government-defined races in housing, education, and virtually all spheres of life, creating in effect three nations: one of whites (consisting of peoples primarily of British and Dutch [Boer] ancestry, who struggled for generations to gain political supremacy, a struggle that reached its violent apex with the South African War of 1899–1902); one of Blacks (consisting of such peoples as the San hunter-gatherers of the northwestern desert, the Zulu herders of the eastern plateaus, and the Khoekhoe farmers of the southern Cape regions); and one of “Coloureds” (mixed-race people) and ethnic Asians (Indians, Malays, Filipinos, and Chinese). The apartheid regime was disdained and even vehemently opposed by much of the world community, and by the mid-1980s South Africa found itself among the world’s pariah states, the subject of economic and cultural boycotts that affected almost every aspect of life. During this era the South African poet Mongane Wally Serote remarked,There is an intense need for self-expression among the oppressed in our country. When I say self-expression I don’t mean people saying something about themselves. I mean people making history consciously….We neglect the creativity that has made the people able to survive extreme exploitation and oppression. People have survived extreme racism. It means our people have been creative about their lives. Eventually forced to confront the untenable nature of ethnic separatism in a multicultural land, the South African government of F.W. de Klerk (1989–94) began to repeal apartheid laws. That process in turn set in motion a transition toward universal suffrage and a true electoral democracy, which culminated in the 1994 election of a government led by the Black majority under the leadership of the long-imprisoned dissident Nelson Mandela. As this transition attests, the country has made remarkable progress in establishing social equity in a short period of time. South Africa has three cities that serve as capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Johannesburg, the largest urban area in the country and a centre of commerce, lies at the heart of the populous Gauteng province. Durban, a port on the Indian Ocean, is a major industrial centre. East London and Port Elizabeth, both of which lie along the country’s southern coast, are important commercial, industrial, and cultural centres. Today South Africa enjoys a relatively stable mixed economy that draws on its fertile agricultural lands, abundant mineral resources, tourist attractions, and highly evolved intellectual capital. Greater political equality and economic stability, however, do not necessarily mean social tranquility. South African society at the start of the 21st century continued to face steep challenges: rising crime rates, ethnic tensions, great disparities in housing and educational opportunities, and the AIDS pandemic. Land South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east. Lesotho, an independent country, is an enclave in the eastern part of the republic, entirely surrounded by South African territory. South Africa’s coastlines border the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. The country possesses two small subantarctic islands, Prince Edward and Marion, situated in the Indian Ocean about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeast of Cape Town. The former South African possession of Walvis Bay, on the Atlantic coast some 400 miles (600 km) north of the Orange River, became part of Namibia in 1994. Relief of South Africa A plateau covers the largest part of the country, dominating the topography; it is separated from surrounding areas of generally lower elevation by the Great Escarpment. The plateau consists almost entirely of very old rock of the Karoo System, which formed from the Late Carboniferous Epoch (about 320 to 300 million years ago) to the Late Triassic Epoch (about 230 to 200 million years ago). The plateau, generally highest in the east, drops from elevations of more than 8,000 feet (2,400 metres) in the basaltic Lesotho region to about 2,000 feet (600 metres) in the sandy Kalahari in the west. The central part of the plateau comprises the Highveld, which reaches between 4,000 and 6,000 feet (1,200 and 1,800 metres) in elevation. South of the Orange River lies the Great Karoo region. The Great Escarpment (see Drakensberg), known by a variety of local names such as uKhahlamba (Zulu: “Barrier of Spears”) and the Natal Drakensberg, forms the longest continuous topographic feature in South Africa and provides scenery of great beauty. The escarpment is part of uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. It runs southward from the far northeast, where it is generally known as the Transvaal Drakensberg (Afrikaans: “Dragon Mountains”). It is there, in KwaZulu-Natal province, that the country’s highest point, Njesuthi (11,181 feet [3,408 metres]), is found. Farther south the escarpment forms the boundary first between KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces and then between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. There it reaches elevations of nearly 11,000 feet (3,300 metres), including some of the country’s highest peaks, such as Mont aux Sources (10,823 feet [3,299 metres]). The mountainous escarpment continues southwestward, dividing Lesotho from the Eastern Cape province, where it runs westward across Eastern Cape at lesser elevations of 5,000 to 8,000 feet (1,500 to 2,400 metres) and is known as the Stormberg. Farther to the west it becomes the Nuweveld Range and the Roggeveld Mountains and forms the approximate boundary between Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces. At its western extreme, in the vicinity of Mount Bokkeveld and Mount Kamies (5,600 feet [1,700 metres]), the escarpment is not well defined.An area of ancient folded mountains with elevations between 3,000 and 7,600 feet (900 and 2,300 metres) lies in the southwest of the country; it includes ranges such as the Tsitsikama, Outeniqua, Groot-Swart, Lange, Ceder, Drakenstein, and Hottentots Holland mountains, as well as Table Mountain and its associated features at Cape Town. Both above and below the Great Escarpment, the topography tends to be broken. Open plains are rare, occurring mainly in northwestern Free State and farther to the west and in smaller areas such as the Springbok Flats north of Pretoria. Ridges, mountains, and deeply incised valleys are common, mainly left by the erosion of ancient landforms. There is little genuine coastal plain between the escarpment and the sea, except in northern KwaZulu-Natal, where it reaches a width of about 50 miles (80 km), and in parts of Western Cape. For most of its 1,836-mile (2,955-km) length, the coastline consists of fairly steep slopes rising rapidly inland and often includes long stretches of beach. Most of the coastline has been uplifted or created by falling sea levels in the recent geologic past, with the result that there are few flooded river valleys or natural harbours. Exceptions include the Knysna Lagoon in Western Cape and the Buffalo River at East London. In KwaZulu-Natal, longshore drift over many centuries has created spits and bluffs from beach sand; in a number of places these features have enclosed bays, which have provided both remarkable sanctuaries for wildlife (as at the St. Lucia estuary) and, when mouths are dredged, good harbours (as at Durban and Richards Bay). More …. Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Relief  

2024/04/27

THIS is LOME - TOGO - [4k ultra hd] drone video (2020)

THIS is LOME - TOGO - is a 4k ultra hd video that brings you to discover the capital city of Togo, Lomé. if you liked that video and want to help my work to travel more, please give it a thumb up, and more important , share it on your social network !

2024/04/26

Introducing the Netherlands

Start exploring the Netherlands with Lonely Planet’s video guide to getting around, when to go and the top things to do while you're there. For more travel tips,

2024/04/26

Official Sierra Leone Tourism Video

Sierra Leone Tourism

2024/04/26

South Africa Tourism Video - Leave Ordinary Behind

South Africa Tourism Promo. For more information visit http://www.southafrica.net​ . Permission to use footage for tourism promotion by

2024/04/26

Reunification Day United Republic of Tanzania

Tanzania, East African country situated just south of the Equator. Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the theretofore separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Mainland Tanganyika covers more than 99 percent of the combined territories’ total area. Mafia Island is administered from the mainland, while Zanzibar and Pemba islands have a separate government administration. Dodoma, since 1974 the designated official capital of Tanzania, is centrally located on the mainland. Dar es Salaam is the largest city and port in the country. Land - Tanzania mainland The Tanzania mainland is bounded by Uganda, Lake Victoria, and Kenya to the north, by the Indian Ocean to the east, by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi, and Zambia to the south and southwest, and by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi, and Rwanda to the west. Relief Except for the narrow coastal belt of the mainland and the offshore islands, most of mainland Tanzania lies above 600 feet (200 metres) in elevation. Vast stretches of plains and plateaus contrast with spectacular relief features, notably Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet [5,895 metres]), and the world’s second deepest lake, Lake Tanganyika (4,710 feet [1,436 metres] deep). Highlands associated with the Western Rift Valley are formed by the Ufipa Plateau, the Mbeya Range, and Rungwe Mountain in the southwestern corner of the country. From there the southern highlands run northeastward along the Great Rift to the Ukuguru and Nguru mountains northwest of Morogoro. Extending from the northern coast, the Usambara and Pare mountain chains run in a southeast-to-northwest direction, culminating in Kilimanjaro’s lofty snow-clad peak and continuing beyond to Mount Meru (14,978 feet [4,565 metres]). Immediately to the west of Mount Meru, another chain of mountains begins, which includes the still-active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai and the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest caldera, or volcanic depression. This chain extends through a corridor between Lake Eyasi and Lake Manyara toward Dodoma. Drainage Because of its numerous lakes, approximately 22,800 square miles (59,000 square km) of Tanzania’s territory consists of inland water. Lake Victoria, which ranks as the world’s second largest freshwater lake, is not part of the Rift System. Although Tanzania has no big rivers, it forms the divide from which the three great rivers of the African continent rise—the Nile, the Congo, and the Zambezi, which flow to the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean, respectively. Separated by the central plateau, the watersheds of these rivers do not meet. All of Tanzania’s major rivers—the Ruvuma, the Rufiji, the Wami, and the Pangani—drain into the Indian Ocean. The largest, the Rufiji River, has a drainage system that extends over most of southern mainland Tanzania. The Kagera River flows into Lake Victoria, whereas other minor rivers flow into internal basins formed by the Great Rift Valley. With so many rivers, mainland Tanzania is rich in hydroelectricity potential. Soils The variety of soils in mainland Tanzania surpasses that of any other country in Africa. The reddish brown soils of volcanic origin in the highland areas are the most fertile. Many river basins also have fertile soils, but they are subject to flooding and require drainage control. The red and yellow tropical loams of the interior plateaus, on the other hand, are of moderate-to-poor fertility. In these regions, high temperatures and low rainfall encourage rapid rates of oxidation, which result in a low humus content in the soil and, consequently, a clayey texture rather than the desired crumblike structure of temperate soils. Also, tropical downpours, often short in duration but very intense, compact the soil; this causes drainage problems and leaches the soil of nutrients. Climate Mainland Tanzania can be divided into four principal climactic and topographic areas: the hot and humid coastal lowlands of the Indian Ocean shoreline, the hot and arid zone of the broad central plateau, the high inland mountain and lake region of the northern border, where Mount Kilimanjaro is situated, and the highlands of the northeast and southwest, the climates of which range from tropical to temperate. Tanzania’s warm equatorial climate is modified by variations in elevation. The high amount of solar radiation throughout the year is associated with a limited seasonal fluctuation of temperature: the mean monthly variation is less than 9 °F (5 °C) at most stations. Ground frosts rarely occur below 8,200 feet (2,500 metres). Rainfall is highly seasonal, being influenced greatly by the annual migration of the intertropical convergence zone. Roughly half of mainland Tanzania receives less than 30 inches (750 mm) of precipitation annually, an amount considered to be the minimum required for most forms of crop cultivation in the tropics. The central plateau, which receives less than 20 inches (510 mm) per year on average, is the driest area and experiences a single rainy season between December and May. Precipitation is heavier on the coast, where there are two peaks of precipitation: October–November and April–May. The offshore islands and many highland areas have high annual precipitation totals of more than 60 inches (1,520 mm). More …. Score: www.britannica.com/place/Tanzania

2024/04/26

Tanzania Tourism

Tanzania is home to some of Africa's most famous national parks and the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the Serengeti. Most visitors will find themselves passing through Dar es Salaam and heading out on safaris and various wildlife viewing adventures. For those who want to take a break and spend some time soaking up the sun, the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar beckon.

2024/04/25

The Perfect Vacation in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Visit Israel

We welcome visitors to Israel. Many countries have a Visa Waiver Program with Israel, which allows their citizens to visit Israel without a need for a visa.

2024/04/21

Welcome to Zimbabwe

A world of wonders! The epitome of african beauty and perfect destination for an unforgettable trip!

2024/04/20