ABSTRACT

Originally published in 1961, this book was the first comprehensive work on South African geography that also presented a balanced account of all facets of the economic life. It was written to provide background information on South Africa – the nature of the country, its resources and deficiencies, its historic settlement by peoples of different races and of the progress made and the difficulties encountered in the major areas of economic activity: agriculture, mining, manufacturing and trade. In discussing these factors the book acknowledged that in South Africa the complexities of the relationships between peoples of different racial origins and widely differently economic and cultural standards are met in one country.

part |92 pages

The Physical Background

chapter 1|29 pages

Structure and Surface

chapter 2|32 pages

Weather and Climate

chapter 3|15 pages

Vegetation

chapter 4|14 pages

Soils

part |24 pages

The Occupation of Southern Africa

part |40 pages

Water Supply and Irrigation

chapter 7|38 pages

Water Supply and Irrigation

part |122 pages

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

chapter 9|19 pages

The Cereal Crops

chapter 10|6 pages

Sugar Cane

chapter 11|12 pages

Other Crops

chapter 12|24 pages

Fruit

chapter 13|24 pages

The Pastoral Industries

chapter 16|12 pages

Fishing and Whaling

part |104 pages

Mineral Resources and Exploitation

chapter 18|7 pages

Precious Stones

chapter 19|28 pages

Precious Metals

chapter 20|15 pages

Base Metals

chapter 21|10 pages

Non-metallic Minerals

chapter 22|38 pages

Coal 1

part |92 pages

Power Resources and Manufacturing Industries

part |38 pages

Communications and Trade

chapter 32|21 pages

Land and Air Communications

chapter 33|15 pages

The Ports and their Trade

part |14 pages

The Bantu Economy and the Bantu Territories

part |124 pages

The Major Regions

chapter 36|28 pages

The South-western Cape

chapter 37|15 pages

The South-eastern Cape

chapter 38|33 pages

The Eastern Plateau Slopes

chapter 39|14 pages

The Highveld Plateau

chapter 41|4 pages

Basutoland

chapter 42|13 pages

The Transvaal Plateau Basin

part |28 pages

The Population and the Future