The A - Z of ZA: Geography Trivia Quiz

Answer: Net exporter - by over 50%

Although we have very little arable land, it is used to full potential, and irrigation is used to increase production. The value of imports for 2004/2005 was R 13 291 million, while our value of exports for the same time period was R 22 938 million.

Answer: Bloukrans River Bridge

The Bloukrans River Bridge is situated near Storms River. This 216m high bridge provides a jump of about 160m. The Storms River Bridge, also known as the Paul Sauer Bridge, it is a 190m long single span bridge. John Ross Bridge crosses the Tugel River in KwaZulu-Natal, and Crocodile Bridge is a restcamp in the Kruger National Park)

Answer: KwaZulu-Natal Coast

The KZN Coast has hot sticky summers, and warm winters. Night time temperatures in winter very rarely fall below 10 degrees C. Summer temperatures rise to the mid- 30's, which is lower than other parts of the country, however, the humidity makes the apparent temperature seem a lot higher.

Answer: Venetia, Limpopo Province - Open Pit mining

Venetia is the most productive and richest diamond mine. In 2005 it produces 8 515 045 carats, at a rate of 143 carats / 100 metric tons of ore. The other mines mentioned all produced less than 2 million carats, with a rate less than 30 carats / 100 metric tons of ore.

Other major mines are Koffiefontein in the Southern Free State, Finsch in the Northern Cape, and The Oaks in Limpopo Province.

Answer: Sandstone and Basalt

The lower levels are predominantly sandstone, and the mountains are capped with a layer of Basalt up to 1500m thick. The Drakensberg mountain range forms the southern and eastern part of the Escarpment.

Answer: Fynbos

The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest and richest per area unit of the six floral kingdoms. It is unique to the Western Cape. The diversity of Fynbos plants is greater than that of tropical forests. As a comparison - Table Mountain in Cape Town supports 1470 species of plant - more than the entire United Kingdom. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fynbos)

Answer: 40%

South Africa has about 40 tons of base gold ore reserves, mainly concentrated in the Gauteng area. Gold mining mainly occurs along a 430 km stretch across the Witwatersrand. In 2006, South Africa produced 12% of the total gold production in the world.

Answer: Between 1250m and 1750m (about par with Switzerland)

With the exception of the actual peaks in the Alps, the Highveld is situated at the same altitude as the Alpine countries.

Answer: Malawi

South Africa also borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and surrounds Lesotho.

Answer: Hillbrow Tower

The Hillbrow Tower is 270m tall, the equivalent of 90 stories. It is a microwave tower and belongs to the telecommunications company Telkom.

Answer: Gorgonopsid

The fossil remains were discovered by palaeontologists Roger Smith and Peter Ward. The Gorgonopsid were reptile-like mammals, from the late Permian era, a time before dinosaurs. They were the largest of the carnivores of the time, and would have resembled a cross between a lion and a large monitor lizard. The predator was given the name from Gorgon of Greek mythology.

Answer: Sibaya

Lake St Lucia is an salt water estuary lake, Langebaan is a lagoon, Gariep is the largest dam in the country. Lake Sibaya is in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, and has a surface area of 60 - 70 km2.

Answer: Aluminium (Bauxite)

Although South Africa does not mine aluminium, it does have large smelting operations. South Africa is the largest world producer of platinum, manganese, vanadium, chromium and gold, and also mines significant amounts of diamonds, uranium, iron ore, coal, titanium, palladium and heavy metals.

Answer: Elephant

The springbok is the national animal, the blue crane is the national bird, and the king protea is the national flower.

Answer: Benguela

The Benguela Current is rich in plankton and provides rich fishing grounds for the western coast. The Agulhas current runs from Mozambique to Agulhas, along the east coast of South Africa, and is warm.

Answer: Khoisan

Khoisan is the collective name for the two original ethnic groups who occupied Southern Africa; the Khoikhoi, who were pastoralists; and the Bushmen (San) who were hunter-gatherers. Bantu speaking people, notably the Xhosas and the Zulus moved down into Southern Africa about 2000 years ago.

When the Dutch settled the Cape in the 1600's, the predominant indigenous population was made up of the Khoisan people. Pygmies are the indigenous people of central Africa.

Answer: 6.1 - destructive up to about 100 miles in populated areas

The strongest earthquake measured in South Africa, up until December 2006, (when this quiz was compiled), was 6.1 of the Richter Scale, and occurred in Ceres in 1969. Most of the earthquakes measured relate to mining activities, and very rarely cause any damage.

Answer: Umgeni River - Tugela River

Tributaries of the Tugela River include the Klip river, Mooi river and Blood river. The Umgeni river flows directly to the sea.

Answer: Maize

Maize is the staple crop, and is commonly known as mielies. Mielie meal is the traditional food for many cultures. Maize contributes to about 36% of the gross value of field crops. Sorghum is a crop indigenous to Africa. Wheat is the second most important crop. Rice is not easily grown in a dry country like South Africa.

Answer: 2nd

The Tugela Falls are found in the uKhahlamba Park in KwaZulu-Natal. The source of the Tugela River is a few kilometers upstream at Mont-Aux-Sources. The highest waterfall in the world is the Salto Angel in Venezuela, and has a 979m drop.

Answer: Western Cape Coast

Kelp forests favour water temperatures between 4 and 20 degrees C, and need clear water. The forests are near the Cape Peninsula. You can also see a kelp forest at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town.

Answer: Shongweni

Shongweni Resources Reserve is situated 30km from Durban. It is home to a large variety of wildlife, including two of the "Big 5", namely rhino and buffalo. The reserve also has more than 200 species of birds recorded. It is a natural heritage site, and adjoins the Shongweni dam. The others are all nature reserves in KwaZulu-Natal.

Answer: Randfontein - Johannesburg - Springs

The Witwatersrand is part of the Gauteng province, and runs from Randfontein in the west to Springs in the east. It is a low mountain range, 100 km long. With Johannesburg acting as the center, the areas on either side are known as the West Rand and East Rand.

Answer: Eastern Cape

The independent homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei were set up under the apartheid system for the Xhosa people. These homelands have since been incorporated into the Eastern Cape Province.

Answer: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (formerly the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park)

At 36 000 km2, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana. The international border is marked by whitewashed stones, allowing animals to roam freely. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is 35 000 km2 and links together parks in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Richtersveld crosses into Namibia, and the Limpopo / Shashe TFCA is still in proposal stage (2006).