MPUMALANGA

'Mpumalanga', (name changed from 'Eastern Transvaal' on 24 August 1995), is a province in South Africa. The name means "''the place where the sun rises''" in Swazi. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. In the north it borders on Limpopo, to the west the Free State, and to the southwest Gauteng. The capital is Nelspruit. Prior to 1994, Mpumalanga was part of Transvaal Province.

Geography

The Drakensberg Escarpment divides Mpumalanga into a westerly half consisting mainly of high-altitude grassland called the Highveld and an eastern half situated in low altitude subtropical Lowveld/Bushveld, mostly comprised of savanna habitat. The southern half of the Kruger National Park is situated in the latter region. The Drakensberg exceeds heights of 2000m in most places with this central region of Mpumalanga being very mountainous. These regions have alpine grasslands and small pockets of Afromontane Forest. The Lowveld is relatively flat with interspersed rocky outcrops. The Lebombo Mountains form a low range in the far east forming the border with Mozambique.
Some of the oldest rocks on earth are to be found in the Barberton area and these ancient greenstones and metamorphosed granites form the Crocodile River Mountains in the south-east of the province. The Lowveld is underlaid by African Cratonic Basement rocks of ages in excess of 2 billion years. The Highveld is mostly Karoo Sequence sedimentary rocks of a younger, Carboniferous to Permian age.

★ Gaza Province, Mozambique - northeast

★ Maputo Province, Mozambique - east

★ Lubombo District, Swaziland - east, southwest of Maputo Province

★ Hhohho District, Swaziland - east, northwest of Lubombo

★ Manzini District, Swaziland - east, south of Hhohho

★ Shiselweni District, Swaziland - southeast, south of Manzini
Mpumalanga is the only province of South Africa to border two provinces of Mozambique or to border all four districts of Swaziland.

Climate

The Lowveld is subtropical, due to its proximity to the warm Indian Ocean and lattitude. The Highveld is comparatively much cooler, due to its altitude of 2300m to 1700m above sea level. The Drakensberg Escarpment receives the most precipitation, with all other areas being moderately well-watered by mostly summer thunderstorms. The Highveld often experiences severe frost, whilst the Lowveld is mostly frost-free. Winter rainfall is rare, except for some drizzle on the escarpment. The differences in climate are demonstrated below by the capital, Nelspruit, which is in the Lowveld, located just an hour from Belfast on the Highveld.

★ Nelspruit averages: January maximum: 29ºC (min: 19ºC), July maximum: 23ºC (min: 6ºC), annual precipitation: 767mm

★ Belfast averages: January maximum: 23ºC (min: 12ºC), June maximum: 15ºC (min: 1ºC), annual precipitation: 878mm

Fauna and flora

The diverse and special flora and fauna of the province enjoys protection in a range of nature reserves, including:

★ Blyderivierspoort Nature Reserve

★ Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, previously known as Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park. This international game park brings together some of the best and most established wildlife areas in southern Africa. The park is managed as an integrated unit across an unprecedented three international boundaries which includes the Kruger National Park (South Africa), Limpopo National Park (Mozambique) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe).

★ Sabi-Sand Game Reserve, which is built up of numerous private reserves: Chitwa Chitwa Game Lodge, Djuma Game Reserve, Exeter Game Lodge, Idube Game Reserve, Inyati Private Game Reserve, Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, Londolozi Game Reserve, Mala Mala Game Reserve, Savanna Private Game Reserve and Ulusaba Game Lodge.

Flag of Mpumalanga

Law and government

Main articles: Politics of Mpumalanga

The Mpumalanga Province's legislation is an amalgam of national and regional legislation promulgated prior to the establishment of the Province on 27 April 1994, and legislation which it has itself promulgated since it came into existence. Lists of and the original texts of this legislation are available through various South African governmental websites, and amended and updated versions of the legislation is available through commercial vendors on subscription and at a price. See External links for more information.

Subdivisions

Map showing predominant home languages in the province.

Economy

Agriculture

The climatic contrasts between the drier Highveld region, with its cold winters, and the hot, humid Lowveld allow for a variety of agricultural activities. More than 68% of Mpumalanga is utilised by agriculture. Crops include maize, wheat,sorghum, barley, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts, sugar cane, vegetables, coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, citrus, subtropical and deciduous fruit.
Forestry is extensive around Sabie in the far north of the province. Located near the forests, Ngodwana is the site of one of South Africa's largest paper mills (Sappi).^[1]
Natural grazing covers approximately 14% of Mpumalanga. The main products are beef, mutton, wool, poultry and dairy.

Mining

Extensive mining is done and the minerials found include: Gold, Platinum group metals, Silica, Chromite, Vanadiferous Magnetite, Argentiferous Zinc, Antimony, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Tin, Coal, Andalusite, Chrysotile Asbestos, Kieselguhr, Limestone, Magnesite, Talc and Shale.
Gold was first discovered in Mpumalanga province in 1883 by Auguste Roberts in the mountains surrounding what is now Barberton. Gold is still mined in the Barberton area today. ^[2]
Mpumalanga accounts for 83% of South Africa's coal production. 90% of South Africa's coal consumption is used for electricity generation and the synthetic fuel industry. Coal power stations are in proximity to the coal deposits. The mining company Sasol, a coal liquification plant in Secunda is the site of one of the country's two petroleum-from-coal extraction plants, which is operated by the mining company Sasol. ^[3]

Tourism

Mpumalanga is also a popular tourism destination. Kruger National Park, established in 1898 for the protection of Lowveld wildlife, covering 20,000 square kilometres (7,800 square miles), is a popular destination.^[4] The ancient Sudwala Caves are also a major tourist attraction.^[5]

Major cities and towns

See List of cities and towns in Mpumalanga

References

1. Mpumalanga in brief: The economy of the province (URL accessed April 30, 2006)
2. "Barberton", Mpumalanga South Africa, ExploreSouthAfrica.net. (URL accessed April 30, 2006)
3. "Coal", ''South Africa Country Analysis Brief'', Energy Information Administration. (URL accessed April 30, 2006)
4. "Kruger National Park", South Africa Explored.
5. Sudwala Caves - Mpumalanga - South Africa, EcoTravel.

External links

★ Mpumalanga Provincial Government homepage

★ Mpumalanga Tourism Authority

★ Mpumalanga Accommodation Directory

★ Flags of the World: Mpumalanga provincial flag and heraldry

★ List and text of Mpumalanga legislation from 1994 onwards

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