Welcome to South Africa

36 Pages·2011·1.313 MB·English

By Patrick Ryan
PublishedbyTheChild’sWorld®
1980LookoutDrive
Mankato,MN56003-1705
800-599-READ
www.childsworld.com
Copyright©2008TheChild’sWorld®
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybe
reproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
ContentAdviser:ProfessorGichanaC.Manyara,DepartmentofGeography,
RadfordUniversity,Radford,VA
DesignandProduction:TheCreativeSpark,SanJuanCapistrano,CA
Editorial:EmilyJ.Dolbear,Brookline,MA
PhotoResearch:DeborahGoodsite,Califon,NJ
Coverandtitlepagephoto:RogerDeLaHarpe/GalloImages
Interiorphotos:Alamy:7(EricNathan),11(InterfotoPressebildagentur),18(ThomasCockrem),
3top,22,25(EricNathan),22–23(NeilCooper),29(DavidPearson);APPhoto:27(DenisFarrell);
TheBridgemanArtLibrary:10(SouthAfricanLibrary,CapeTown,SouthAfrica);GettyImages:15
(AlexanderJoe/AFP),19,30(Per-AndersPettersson)20(TomStoddart);TheImageWorks:21
(JasonLaure);iStockphoto.com:28(UfukZivana);LonelyPlanetImages:14(CraigPershouse),3
bottom,16(RichardI’Anson);NASAEarthObservatory:4(RetoStockli);PanosPictures:13(Jon
Spaull);PeterArnold,Inc.:8(WalterH.Hodge);PhotoLibraryGroup:24;SuperStock,Inc.:6(Steve
Vidler),3middle,9(agefotostock),17.
Map:XNRProductions:5
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Ryan,Patrick,1948–
WelcometoSouthAfrica/byPatrickRyan.
p.cm.— (Welcometotheworld)
Includesindex.
ISBN978-1-59296-977-7(librarybound:alk.paper)
1. SouthAfrica—Juvenileliterature. I.Title.II.Series.
DT1719.R932008
968—dc22
2007038145
WhereIsSouthAfrica? ................................................4
The Land ............................................................................6
PlantsandAnimals ......................................................8
Long Ago ........................................................................10
South Africa Today ....................................................12
ThePeople ......................................................................15
City Life and Country Life ......................................16
Schools and Language ............................................18
Work ..................................................................................21
Food ..................................................................................22
Pastimes ..........................................................................25
Holidays ..........................................................................26
FastFactsAboutSouthAfrica ..............................28
HowDoYouSay... ......................................................30
Glossary ..........................................................................31
FurtherInformation ..................................................32
Index ................................................................................32
Where Is South Africa?
Imagine that you could float high up in the air. If you looked
down at the Earth, you would notice that the world has
many land areas that are surrounded by water. These land
areas are called continents. Many of these continents are
made up of several different countries.
South Africa is a beautiful country on the continent of
Africa. It has green
grasslands, towering
mountains, and
hot deserts.
This picture gives us a flat look at Earth.
An entire nation lies inside
South Africa is inside the red circle.
South Africa. Itʼs the tiny
nation of Lesotho.
4
PA05119_SAf_body:PA05119_SAf_body 11/12/08 12:59 PM Page 5
ZIMBABWE
SOUTH
AFRICA
National capital BOTSWANA
Other capital R iv er MOZAMBIQUE
o Messina
p
Other city Lim po Kruger
National
Park
Limpopo
NAMIBIA Kalahari
GNeaPmtaiosrbnkMoaklolopo River NorJthowheasntn eRsibvuerr gGautPe nreg toM rp iuam ala n g aS WAZILAND
al
Va
Upington KwaZulu-
Orange Ri v e r Free State Natal
Bloemfontein
Njesuthi
Or Orania LESOTHO
a
Northern nge Durban
ATLANTIC Cape River INDIAN

OCEAN OCEAN
Eastern
Cape

East London N
Western
Cape
Cape Town Port W E
Elizabeth
Cape of
Good Hope S
0 100 200 miles
0 100 200 kilometers
The Land
The countryside of South Africa is made up of flat sections
of land called plateaus. South Africa’s plateau area is
surrounded by mountains called the Great Escarpment.
The highest mountain in South Africa is called Njesuthi
(en-je-SU-tee).
The Great Escarpment stretches across several countries, including South Africa.
Part of the Orange River borders South Africa and Namibia.
South Africa sometimes doesn’t get enough rain. Because
of this, there are very few rivers. The three major rivers are the
Orange, the Vaal, and the Limpopo. The Orange River is
the longest. It is about 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) long!
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Plants and Animals
Many rare animals live in South Africa. Elephants, lions,
giraffes, zebras, and leopards all can be found there. Baboons,
crocodiles, and snakes live in South Africa,
too. Each year, thousands of people visit the
great national parks where the animals are
protected. The largest and most famous
national park in South Africa is Kruger
National Park.
There are also many rare plants and
grasses in South Africa. For example, the
cycad is a huge tropical plant that has been
on this planet for a very long time. It can
sometimes grow to be more than 60 feet
A cycad plant growing in
South Africa (18 meters) tall!
8