Geography na Afirka ta Kudu

 

Afirka ta Kudu ta mamaye iyakar kudancin Afirka, bakin tekun nata yana da nisan sama da kilomita 2,850 (1,770 mi) daga kan iyakar hamada da Namibiya a gabar Tekun Atlantika (yammacin) kudu da iyakar Afirka sannan kuma arewa maso gabas zuwa kan iyaka da Mozambique a gabar tekun Indiya (gabas). Yankin bakin tekun da ke ƙasa yana da kunkuntar don yawancin wannan tazarar, ba da daɗewa ba ya ba da hanya zuwa wani tsaunin tsaunuka (Great Escarpment) wanda ke raba bakin tekun da babban tudu na cikin ƙasa. A wasu wurare, musamman lardin KwaZulu-Natal da ke gabas, nisa mafi girma ya raba gabar teku da tudun mun tsira. Ko da yake yawancin ƙasar an lasafta su a matsayin ɗan bushewa, tana da ɗimbin bambance-bambancen yanayi da yanayin yanayin ƙasa. Jimillar fili mai faɗin murabba'in kilomita 1,220,813 (471,359 sq mi). Tana da yanki na Musamman na Tattalin Arziki na Musamman na 23 na murabba'in kilomita 1,535,538 (592,875 sq mi).

Yankin tsakiyar Afirka ta Kudu ya ƙunshi manyan koguna guda biyu kawai: Limpopo (wanda ke da iyaka da Zimbabwe), da kuma Orange (tare da tributary, Vaal) wanda ke gudana tare da madaidaicin magudanar ruwa ta tsakiyar fili daga gabas zuwa yamma, ya shiga cikin Tekun Atlantika a kan iyakar Namibiya.

Yankunan gabas da kudu na gabar tekun suna magudanar ruwa da gajerun koguna masu yawa. Akwai ƙananan koguna na bakin teku tare da ƙaƙƙarfan gaɓar gabar yamma da ke arewa da 31°30′S.

A irin wannan busasshiyar ƙasa, madatsun ruwa da ban ruwa suna da matuƙar mahimmanci: mafi girma dam shine Gariep akan kogin Orange.

Rarrabawar ƙasa

Kudancin Afirka ta Tsakiya da ke gefen Babban Escarpment .

Kamar yawancin nahiyar Afirka dake kudu da hamadar sahara, yankin Afrika ta kudu ya mamaye wani babban fili mai tsayi da ke kewaye da lungunan gabar teku. Wannan tudun muntsine da Babban Escarpment wanda ya kai arewa zuwa kusan 10° kudancin Equator (watau zuwa Angola a yamma, da Muchinga Escarpment a Zambiya a gabas). )  

Babban Dutsen

A Afirka ta Kudu dutsen tudu yana kan mafi girma a gabas inda gefensa ya bambanta tsakanin tsayin mita 2,000 zuwa 3,300 m. Wannan gefen tuddai, yayin da ƙasar ke faɗuwa da ƙarfi zuwa filin bakin teku, ya samar da wani babban tudu mai tsayi wanda aka fi sani da tsaunin Drakensberg. Yankunan kudanci da yamma na ƙulle-ƙulle ba su da girma kamar Drakensberg, amma kuma ana san su da nau'ikan sunayen gida iri-iri, duk ana kiransu "dutse" (ko "berge" a cikin Afrikaans), duk da kasancewar wani yanki na ƙwanƙwasa wanda samansa shine tsakiyar tudu, irin su Groenberg Mountain. Daga filin bakin teku, ƙwanƙwasa yana kama da kewayon tsaunuka, saboda haka sunayen.

Panorama na yankin Giant's Castle na Drakensberg, mafi girman ɓangaren Babban Escarpment. A nan ne Escarpment ya rufe da wani nau'i na 1,400 m na dutsen mai tsayayya da rushewa, wanda ya taɓa rufe mafi yawan Kudancin Afirka shekaru miliyan 182 da suka gabata. Ƙananan raguwar wannan laka ne kawai ya kasance a kan tudu, yana rufe wani ɓangare na Lesotho, kuma yana lissafin babban tsawo na Great Escarpment a kan iyakar Lesotho / KwaZulu-Natal.  

The portion of the Great Escarpment that could be designated a "mountain" is where it forms the international border between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The Lesotho Highlands form a localized high spot on the Central Plateau. This is because it is capped by a 1,400 m thick layer of erosion resistant lava which welled up and spread across most of Southern Africa when it was still part of Gondwana. Most of this lava has eroded away together with a layer of Karoo sedimentary rocks several kilometres thick on top of which the lava was poured out 182 million years ago. Only a small patch of this lava remains and covers much of Lesotho. It has been deeply eroded by the tributaries of the Orange River which drain these highlands towards the south-west (i.e. away from the Escarpment). This gives this high region its very rugged, mountainous appearance.

Tsakiyar Tsakiya

Kimanin ɓangaren SW-NE ta Afirka ta Kudu tare da Cape Peninsula (tare da Table Mountain) a hagu, da arewa maso gabashin KwaZulu-Natal a dama. Diagrammatic kuma kawai kusan zuwa sikelin. Yana nuna manyan tsarin ilimin ƙasa (layin launuka) waɗanda ke mamaye sassan kudanci da gabashin ƙasar, da kuma dangantakar da ke tsakanin Tsakiyar Tsakiya, Dutsen Cape Fold, da Drakensberg.

Tsarin zane mai nisan kilomita 400 daga arewa zuwa kudu ta hanyar kudancin kasar kusa da Calitzdorp a cikin Little Karoo (kimanin 21 ° 30 'E), yana nuna alaƙar da ke tsakanin Dutsen Cape Fold (da tsarin yanayin su) da ilimin ƙasa na Little da Great Karoo, da kuma matsayin Babban Escarpment. Lambar launi don yadudduka na geological iri ɗaya ne da waɗanda aka yi amfani da su a cikin zane a hagu. Layin baƙar fata mai nauyi wanda ke gefen kibiyoyi masu adawa shine kuskuren da ke gudana kusan kilomita 300 tare da gefen kudancin Dutsen Swartberg. Yankin Dutsen Swartberg yana da wasu daga cikin tsawo mai girma ga haɓaka tare da wannan layin kuskure. Tsarin da ke ƙarƙashin ƙasa ba don daidaitawa ba ne.  

Muhimman yankuna a Afirka ta Kudu. Layin mai kauri yana bin hanyar Babban Escarpment wanda ke gefen tsakiya na tsakiya. Yankin gabashin wannan layin, mai launin ja, an san shi da Drakensberg . Escarpment ya tashi zuwa mafi girman matsayi, a sama da 3,000 m, inda Drakensberg ya zama iyaka tsakanin KwaZulu-Natal da Lesotho. Babu wani yanki da aka nuna a taswirar da ke da iyakoki masu kaifi, sai dai inda Escarpment, ko kewayon duwatsu suka samar da layin raba tsakanin yankuna biyu.

Tsakiyar tsakiya (ban da Lesotho Highlands) ta samar da fili, mai laushi wanda, kamar yadda aka nuna a sama, ya fi girma a gabas, yana gangarowa a hankali zuwa yamma (kimanin 1,000 m sama da matakin teku). Yankin da ke ƙasa zuwa kudu ba shi da kyau (yankin kudanci da kudu maso yammacin tsaunin suna da kusan 1600 zuwa 1900 m sama da matakin teku). Har ila yau, tudun yana gangara zuwa ƙasa, zuwa arewa daga kusan 25 ° 30 'S layin latitude, cikin kwarin da ya gaza mai shekaru miliyan 150 wanda ya shiga cikin tsakiyar tudun kuma ya shafe Babban Escarpment, wanda ya samar da abin da a yau ake kira Limpopo Lowveld a ƙasa da 500 m sama da matakin teku. Kogunan da ke zubar da tsaunin suna gudana zuwa yamma, a ƙarshe, ta hanyar Kogin Orange, zuwa Tekun Atlantika. Arewacin Witwatersrand, inda ƙasar ta fara gangara zuwa arewa, magudanar ta shiga cikin Kogin Limpopo kuma daga can zuwa Tekun Indiya.