Highveld

The Highveld (Afrikaans: Hoëveld, pronounced [ˈɦuəfælt], lit. 'High Field') is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1,500 m (4,900 ft), but below 2,100 m (6,900 ft), thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country's most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa's population.

The Highveld constitutes almost all of the provinces of Free State and Gauteng and portions of the surrounding areas: the western rim of Lesotho and portions of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. The highest part of the Highveld, around 2,100 m (6,900 ft), is its northeastern well-defined boundary, where the plateau escarpment (the Mpumalanga Drakensberg) separates it from the Mpumalanga Lowveld, (containing, amongst others, the Kruger National Park). Another well defined boundary is to its north where the Magaliesberg separates the Highveld from the Bushveld. The continuation of the Great Escarpment to the south separates the Highveld from KwaZulu-Natal. The south-eastern portion of the Great Escarpment (that portion of the Great Escarpment most commonly referred to as the Drakensberg) rises to over 3000 m and forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The latter mountainous region is, however, not generally referred to as Highveld, whose boundary at this point runs just inside the Lesotho-Free State border, about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). From its eastern boundary, the Highveld slopes gently downwards to be bounded by the Great Karoo to the south, the Kalahari desert to the west, the Bushveld to the north, the Mpumalanga Lowveld to the northeast, KwaZulu-Natal to the east, and the Lesotho Highlands, or Mountains, to the southeast. The Highveld covers an area of almost 400,000 km² (150,000 sq mi), or roughly 30% of South Africa's land area.

The Highveld terrain is generally devoid of mountains, consisting of rolling plains, especially in the Free State, sometimes interrupted by rocky ridges such as the Witwatersrand, the Magaliesberg, and Vredefort Dome. The Vaal River and its tributaries form the main water drainage system of the Highveld. Tributaries of the Orange River drain the most southerly regions of the Highveld.

The Highveld rainy season occurs in summer, with substantial afternoon thunderstorms being typical occurrences in November, December, and January. Frost occurs in winter.

Cities located on the Highveld include Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Vereeniging, Welkom, Carletonville, and the cities of the West Rand and East Rand. The diamond-mining city of Kimberley lies on the border of the Highveld and the southeastern Kalahari.

About half of the gold ever produced in the world has been mined on the Highveld since 1880. The largest deposits are located in the Witwatersrand, which centres on Johannesburg, with smaller deposits in the northern Free State near Welkom and Virginia. The Highveld is also exceedingly rich in diamonds, coal, vanadium, and manganese.

The pollution in this region is also very high principally due to coal thermal power stations producing nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.

Agriculture on the Highveld is generally dominated by extensive grain production and the grazing of beef cattle, with more intensive production of maize, wheat, sorghum, citrus fruits, groundnuts, sunflowers, and vegetables, occurring in irrigated areas and farmland closer to urban areas. The peat base of the grassland acts as a natural filter, providing sources of clean water.