Geography of Botswana

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Map of Botswana

Satellite image of Botswana, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Goat grazing by the Lotsane River

Location: Southern Africa, north of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 22° S 24° E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 600,370 km²
land: 585,370 km²
water: 15,000 km²

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km, Zambia 2 km.

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

Terrain: The land is predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland. The Kalahari Desert is in the southwest. The Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, is in the northwest and the Makgadikgadi Pan, a large salt pan lies in the north.

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m

Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver

Land use:
arable land: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99.38% (1998 est.)

arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 47%
other: 6% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1998 est.), 20 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility

Environment - current issues: overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country