Geography |
The Republic of Botswana is a land-locked country of some 581 730 km2, situated between latitudes 17° 45' and 27° 45' south and longitudes 20° and 29° 25' east. It lies at the centre of the Southern African Plateau. The terrain is generally flat to slightly undulating, averaging 900 m above sea level with hilly and broken terrain on the eastern fringe.
The Kalahari Desert dominates southern and western Botswana and is without surface drainage. The rest of the country's drainage is mostly to the interior and does not reach the sea. Extensive swamps are found in the north. The Okavango River coming from Angola feeds the large Okavango swamp. Soils everywhere are generally poor and sandy, and the associated natural vegetation varies from sparse thorn bush in the desert to dry woodland savanna in the north and east.
The climate is semi-arid to arid. There is a gradual increase in rainfall from the semi-desert conditions in the south-west, with an average annual precipitation around 225 mm, to the north (625 mm) and east (375 to 500 mm). Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months (December to April). Precipitation, however, is undependable, and the country is subject to drought.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.