Geography
The Kingdom of Lesotho is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Its boundaries run with those of KwaZulu-Natal to the east, Eastern Cape to the south, and the Free State to the north and west. It lies between latitudes 28' and 31' South and longitudes 27' and 30' east. It covers an area of approximately 30 300 square kilometres of which about one quarter in the west is lowland country, varying in height above sea level from 1 500 to 1 600 m, the remaining three quarters being highlands, rising to a height of 3 482 m at Thabana-Ntlenyana in the Maluti Range, which forms the eastern boundary with KwaZulu-Natal. The mountain ranges run from north to south and those in the central area, the Maluti, are spurs of the main Drakensberg, which they join in the north, forming a high plateau varying in height from 2 700 to 3 400 m. It is in this area where two of the largest rivers in Southern Africa, the Orange (Senqu) and the Tugela, and tributaries of the Caledon, have their source. This phenomenon has caused Lesotho to be called the "sponge" of Southern Africa.
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.
