The Kingdom of Lesotho, 1868 to 1966 Basutoland, is a landlocked
country in southern Africa. Lesotho is completely surrounded by the
Republic of South Africa. The capital is Maseru. The form of
government is a parliamentary monarchy. The country has not been
part of the United Kingdom since 1966, but is still linked to it by
the Commonwealth. Independence Day is an annual national holiday.
Lesotho means "land of the Sotho-speaking people", where Sesotho
is meant here. Because of its high altitude, the country is also
called The Kingdom in the Sky.
Geography
The Kingdom of Lesotho lies
between 29 and 30 degrees south latitude and between 28 and 30 degrees
east longitude. The country is one of the smaller countries in Africa
(42nd place out of 54) and, at 30,355 km², is about the size of Belgium.
It is completely surrounded by another state (South Africa), which is
otherwise only the case with San Marino and Vatican City. It shares a
border of around 1,106 kilometers with its only neighboring country. It
borders South Africa's Free State Province to the west and north,
KwaZulu-Natal to the east and the Eastern Cape Province to the south.
The western part of Lesotho lies on a plateau called the Highveld
(called the Lowlands because of its relative location within the
country). It is the main settlement area of the country and consists
mostly of sandstone. The Lowlands are about 1400 to 1700 meters above
sea level. The landscape is characterized by table mountains and river
valleys. There is also the capital Maseru.
The eastern plateaus
and mountains (highlands), on the other hand, are partly over 2000
meters high and consist of basalt, which was formed by volcanic
eruptions around 170 to 150 million years ago. The Highlands are
characterized by deep river valleys and numerous mountains and mountain
ranges. Almost crescent-shaped, beginning in the southwest and ending in
the north, the country is traversed by the Drakensberg Mountains (called
Maloti in Lesotho). The highest mountain in the country and in all of
southern Africa is the Thabana Ntlenyana at 3482 metres.
The
lowest point in the country is at the confluence of the Oranje (called
the Senqu in Lesotho) and the Makhaleng at about 1390 meters above sea
level. The altitude of Lesotho is a unique geographical feature: As the
only independent country in the world, the entire national territory is
over 1000 meters, with an additional 80% of the area being over 1800
meters.
The two major South African rivers Orange and Caledon
have their source in Lesotho. Like other rivers in Lesotho, they have
formed deep canyons. Numerous waterfalls are found on the ledges of the
basalt rocks that make up the Drakensberg Mountains, of which the
Maletsunyane Waterfall at Semonkong is the highest uninterrupted
waterfall in southern Africa at around 192 metres. The floor of the
plateaus at the transition to the Highveld in the west consists of soft
sandstone. For this reason and also because of overpopulation and
excessive demands on the soil - only about eleven percent of the
country's area can be used for agriculture - these suffer particularly
badly from soil erosion here.
The country's natural resources are
water and, to a lesser extent, diamonds and other minerals. The rich
water reservoirs, with an estimated daily discharge of 7,280 million
liters, are the starting point for large-scale energy and water supply
projects. As part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, construction
of several dams has begun, the largest of which is the Katse dam.
climate and vegetation
Due to its location in the southern
hemisphere, the seasons in Lesotho are opposite to those in the northern
hemisphere. The climate is moderately warm due to the high altitude of
the entire country. In winter, between June and August, it often gets
very cold and snow can fall in the higher elevations in the east.
However, it is also sunny during the day in winter, and the country has
an average of around 300 sunny days throughout the year. In the summer
months between November and March it is mostly hot in Lesotho. There are
thunderstorms on about 100 days a year, mostly in summer. Due to the
altitude, temperatures can vary greatly during the day (between −15 °C
at night in winter and up to over 30 °C during the day in summer). The
average annual temperature in the capital Maseru is 15 °C. Snowfall is
possible all year round in the high mountains of the Drakensberg. About
85% of annual precipitation - the national average is about 600 to 800
mm - falls during the summer, which is why the landscape is mostly
parched during the dry winter months.
Flora and fauna
There are few trees in the entire country.
These are mainly limited to locations in sheltered valleys or
plantations. The most common tree species are eucalyptus, acacia
and, in the villages, peach trees. In the higher elevations of the
country, willows are found in the river valleys. Furthermore, many
types of aloe stand out. The spiral aloe (Aloe polyphylla, Sesotho:
lekhala) is endemic to Lesotho. The mountain cabbage tree (Cussonia
paniculata), which can grow up to three meters high, is also
typical. The wild forms of cosmea, zinnia and tagetes are quite
common. Some plant species, such as the latter two, have been
brought to the country from Central and South America.
The
fauna is characterized by smaller animals. The largest wild mammal
is the roebuck (Pelea capreolus, Sesotho: letsa), which is almost
the size of a deer. Birds such as storks, ibis, herons and vultures,
including the rare bearded vulture, are striking. A white stork that
had been ringed at Rossitten in East Prussia was found in what is
now Lesotho in the 1920s. Smaller birds include weaver birds and the
nectar-sucking malachite sunbird. Reptiles, including some species
of snakes, amphibians and a few fish are also found, as well as
numerous insects and other small animals, similar to those in
neighboring countries. The domestic animals are mainly cattle, but
also horses, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, dogs and cats.
Around 1830 hippos, zebras, wildebeests, ostriches and a few lions
were still found in what is now Lesotho. The 65 km² Sehlabathebe
National Park in the southeast of the country has existed since
1969. The Tšehlanyane National Park in the Butha-Buthe district is
another protected area in Lesotho, but is not officially recognized
as a national park.
Geology
The
surface is dominated by the Drakensberg. They are a mighty elevation
of mostly basaltic rocks that were formed about 180 million years
ago by volcanism that was widespread in the southern hemisphere. The
volcanic forces broke through the existing sedimentary cover of the
main Karoo basin and created further uplift in the edge area of this
zone. The flatter areas, especially in the western parts of the
country, consist mainly of sandstones, which are quarried in several
places for regional and South African needs.