Lesotho Tourism
The original Lesotho consisted of the high plains of the Mohokare (Caledon) valley and adjacent areas. Modern Lesotho has lost much of the western part of this land but has gained the high mountain ranges in the east, known as the Maloti. The present boundaries of Lesotho follow in part a series of rivers, the Tele, the Senqu, the Makhaleng and the Mohokare. Between the Makhaleng and Mohokare, the south-western boundary follows a beaconed boundary fence, while between the sources of the Mohokare and Tele, the long eastern and southern boundaries follow a high mountain watershed. This section of the boundary is for much of its distance the Continental Divide between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and it is seldom far from dramatic escarpment cliffs which make access to Lesotho on this side extremely difficult.
The soils in the mountain area are of basaltic origin, and those in the lowlands are derived mainly from the underlying cave sandstone. In the lowlands, the soil has been cropped continuously for upwards of 100 years. Because of the absence of fuel, practically all cattle manure is burnt, so that little or no organic matter is returned to the land. Thus, with increasing population, both human and livestock, excessive demands have been made on the soil which has lost its structure and has become seriously eroded. The soils in the mountains have been brought into cultivation comparatively recently and are rich, but shallow. With uncontrolled grazing, the areas above the arable land, in many places , became denuded of the grass cover, and the rush of surface water caused serious gully erosion on the arable land situated below. Several measures have been, and are being, taken to control this erosion and restore and preserve the grass cover.
Rainfall is variable and mean annual rainfall amounts to between 700 mm and 800 mm in most parts of the lowlands. Most of it falls between October and April, but there is normally no month which has less than 12 mm. Unfortunatly river discharge statistics show that most of this water is lost to Lesotho in the form of run-off.
The deciding factors from an agricultural point are whether the rain comes in steady soaking showers at intervals suited to the growth of the staple crops or whether it comes in the form of short and heavy storms, running to waste and eroding the soil.
Serious droughts have affected the country recently, and there is a large number of perennial streams, though not as many as existed some year ago. In the lowlands the temperatures vary from a maximum of 90' or more in summer to a minimum that rarely drops below 20' in winter. In the highlands the range is much wider and temperatures below zero are common.
