Manual of South African Geography: Forming a Companion to the Map of South Africa to 16 Degrees South Latitude, Intended for the Use of the Upper Classes in Government Schools and Candidates for the Civil Service |
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Common terms and phrases
Albany Aliwal Amatola antelope bank basin Basutu Basutuland Beaufort beds Berg River Betjouana Betjouanaland boers boundary British Kaffraria Bushmanland Bushmen Caledon called Cape colony Cape Town church Clanwilliam climate coast region Colesberg colored inhabitants Cradock Damaraland Damaras Delagoa Bay districts draining Dutch east eastern electoral division feet Fish River formed Fort Beaufort frontier Gauritz Graaff-Reinet Graham's Town Griquas Hantam hills Hottentot immense Kafir Kafirland Kalihari desert Karroo Kat River Kloof L'Agulhas Lake Ngami land latitude Limpopo Little Namaqualand Livingstone Malmesbury mission stations missionary mountain ranges Namaqua Natal nearly Nieuweveld north-east north-west northern numerous Ocean Olifant's River Orange River Paarl Piketberg plains Port Elizabeth principal Quathlamba Queen's Town races rains rhinoceros rocks Roggeveld running slope Sneeuwberg Somerset South Africa square miles Stellenbosch streams Swellendam Table Bay Table Mountain tract tribes Tulbagh Uitenhage Vaal River valleys Victoria village Vlei water-shed winds Winterberg Zambezi Zulu
Popular passages
Page 19 - Area and Population. The Cape Colony was originally founded by the Dutch, under Van Riebeek, about the year 1652, the Portuguese having before made an attempt at a settlement. It was at first but a very small territory, between the Liesbeek River and ' Table Mountain, but when it was taken by the English, in 1796, it had extended east to the Great Fish River, and north along the great mountain range of the Roggeveld to the Sneeuwberg and Bamboosberg. In 1803, at the peace of Amiens, it was given...
Page 111 - ... when the moving mass of air reaches its greatest elevation, it is then on the verge of the great valley, or, as in the case of the Kalahari, the great heated inland plains ; there, meeting with the rarefied air of that hot dry surface, the ascending heat gives it greater capacity for retaining all its remaining humidity, and few showers can be given to the middle and western lands in consequence of the increased hygrometric power. This is the same phenomenon, on a gigantic scale, as that which...
Page 51 - Abatía on our very borders, after some opposition, and one or two conflicts with our troops, the country was annexed by Sir H. Smith to the British empire, under the name of the Orange River Sovereignty; and continued so until 1854, when Sir G. Clerk formally gave it up, and allowed the inhabitants to form a government according to their own wishes. The government is now in the hands of a president, freely elected by the landrost and heemraden in the several districts; while the volksraad, or peoples'...
Page 109 - Mountain, like a huge wall, receives some four miles in breadth of the current, which bounds up with diminishing temperature, and deposits the celebrated " table cloth or cap " on the top. The upper surface of this majestic white cap is smoothed off like a welldressed peruke : its North border hangs over the precipice, drapery fashion ; but during very strong winds it pours down like a cataract to about 1,000 feet from the top, where, entering a warmer temperature, it dissolves and disappears.
Page 111 - ... of the interior country are easterly, with a little southing. The moisture taken up by the atmosphere from the Indian Ocean is deposited on the eastern hilly slope; and when the moving mass of air reaches its greatest elevation, it is then on the verge of the great valley, or, as in the case of the Kalahari, the great heated inland plains there meeting with the rarefied air of that hot, dry surface, the ascending heat gives it greater capacity for retaining all its remaining humidity, and few...
Page 77 - European grain can be raised, and the inhabitants (Bechuanas), though evidently of the same stock, originally, with those already mentioned, and closely resembling them in being an agricultural as well as a pastoral people, are a comparatively timid race, and inferior to the Caffres in physical development.
Page 111 - It feels somewhat as if it came from an oven, and seldom blows longer at a time than three days. It resembles in its effects the...
Page 77 - ... of picnicking, excellent for the health, and agreeable to those who are not over-fastidious about trifles, and who delight in being in the open air. Our route to the north lay near the centre of the cone-shaped mass of land which constitutes the promontory of the Cape. If we suppose this cone to be divided into three zones or longitudinal bands, we find each presenting distinct peculiarities of climate, physical appearance and population. These are more marked beyond than within the colony. At...
Page 109 - August — is 55°, the humidity 81°.2, and the temperature of the dew point 49°, viz., 6° below the mean temperature of the air. The prevailing winds are from the North, north-west, West, and occasionally from the south-west; and they are generally accompanied by rain. Hail-storm squalls are usually from the south-west. As seen from the Observatory, the first indication of a
Page 74 - OVAMPOLAND. The Ovampos or Otjiherero are a tribe, seemingly a connecting link between the Kaffir and Negro races, who inhabit the region north of Great Namaqualand, in South Africa, extending north to the Cuanene River, and south to the parallel of 23° S. lat. The Ovampo tribes are described by Andersson as of a very dark complexion, tall and robust, but remarkably ugly. He found them, however, honest, industrious, and hospitable. They are not entirely pastoral, but cultivate much corn. Living...