Landscape

South Africa's long coastline stretches more than 2500 km. from the desert border with Nambia on the Atlantic coast. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates it from the high inland plateau. South Africa is a medium-sized country, with a total land area of slightly more than 1.2 million square kilometers. It is the same size as Niger, Angola, Mali, and Colombia. It is one-eighth the size of the United States, twice the size of France, and over three times the size of Germany. South Africa about 1600 km. from north to south, and roughly the same from east to west.