Geography
Botswana is a land locked country situated within the centre of Southern Africa and is bordered by Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, Namibia to the north and west, and South Africa to the south and southeast. At Kazungula, four countries - Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia - meet at the Chobe/Zambezi River confluence.
Botswana lies between longitudes 20 and 30 degrees east of Greenwich and between the latitudes 18 and 27 degrees south of the Equator. The distance between the north and the south of Botswana is about 1,110 kilometres. Botswana is 960 kilometres across at its widest part. The area of Botswana is approximately 581,730 square kilometres and is about the size of France or Texas. Botswana is approximately 500 km from the nearest coastline.
Botswana has an altitude of approximately 1100 meters above sea level and consists largely of a sand-filled basin, with gently undulating plains.
The highest point in Botswana is approximately 1491 meters at Otse Mountain near Lobatse. The lowest point is at the junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers at 513 meters.
The Okavango River is the principal river in Botswana. It flows southeast and enters northwestern Botswana from Namibia. Much of northwestern Botswana is a vast swamp, in and around the Okavango Delta, into which the river drains. During the rainy season the river’s flow continues east on the Boteti River to Lake Xau and the Makgadikgadi Pan. The southern part of the country has no permanent streams. The Limpopo, Ngotwane, and Marico rivers separate Botswana from South Africa in the east, and the Molopo River marks the southern boundary. The Chobe River forms the northern boundary with Namibia.
The Kalahari Desert covers the central and southwestern portions of the country.The Kalahari consists of large sand belts and areas that are covered with grass and acacia-thorn scrub much of the year. To the north and the east the Kalahari merges gradually into bushveld (grassland). The eastern part of the country, where most of the people live, is characterized by pleasant hills and rolling plains covered richly with grasses, shrubs and trees.
