South Africa

Bob Jones University World Geography has now landed us in Africa.  We are taking a look at South Africa first and working our way up north.  This is what we found out.

Factoids:

~South Africa was led by Apartheid leaders before Nelson Mandela became the first democratic leader in South Africa in 1994 after he was released from prison.

~There are about 52 million people living in South Africa.

~The capital is Pretoria.

~South Africa is about five times larger than Japan.

~There are 11 official languages for South Africa that include Tsivenda, Setswana, Ndebele, Sepedi, Tsonga, Sesotho, Siswathis, Xhosa, English, Afrikaans, and Zulu.

~South Africa is a democracy thanks to Mandela.

~Christianity is the main religion but there are a blend of Muslims, Jews, and other faiths as well.

Tugela Falls image from the web

~The Tugela Falls is the second highest waterfall in the world after Angel Falls in Venezuela.  We talked
about Angel Falls during out South America study.

image from the web

~On the west coast near the Cape, you will find a colony of penguins.  They thrive there because of the cold Antarctic currents.







~There are approximately 900 species of birds in South Africa including the beautiful blue crane.

Blue crane image from the web

~The ostrich is the largest bird.

image from the web

~The elephant is the largest land mammal.

image from the web

~The world's biggest frog is from Cameroon.









~In South Africa you will find wetlands, subtropical forests, deserts, mountains, plateaus, bush, and grasslands.

the floral symbol of  South Africa-
Image from the web

~South Africa has the most diverse flora kingdom in the world.









~Table Mountain in Cape Town is thought to be one of the world's oldest mountains in the world.  There are over 1,500 species of plants just in Table Mountain.

image from the web

~Soweto, South Africa has the only street in the world to have two neighbors who were both awarded Nobel Peace prizes, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.







~I had no idea that South Africa is the world's largest producer of macadamia nuts.

image from the web

~The largest diamond in the world came from South Africa.  In 1905, the
Cullinan Diamond was found, weighing in at a whopping 3,106.75 carats uncut.



~Besides diamonds, South Africa also has gold mines.  About 20% of the world's gold comes for South Africa.

~The first heart transplant ever done was done in South Africa in 1967 by Dr. Chris Barnard.  South Africa also gets credit for the CT scan.

Well as you can see, another county with a lot happening.  Too much to take in all at once and this was only South Africa.  Next up, North Africa.

Learn more:

kids world travel guide

National Geographic Kids

science kids