The Geography of Botswana

Learning the lay of the land

Botswana’s harsh beauty and the animals that inhabit such complex land both draw visitors eager to see life in the extremes. The country is completely landlocked and is covered in large part by the Kalahari Desert. Surrounding Botswana are Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia and Angola.

The regions

Although visitors to Botswana often assume that the country is nothing but sand dunes, in reality, there are three main regions to the country. Each region ends in veld, which means “field.” These regions are:

Hardveld - The landscape of the hardveld is much like its name: Here, you’ll find shallow sand and rocky hill ranges. You’ll also find most of the population and the country’s three biggest cities. The hardveld lies across most of the southeastern and eastern-central areas of Botswana.

Bushveld - Throughout Botswana, wherever rainfall is enough to support it, you’ll find patches of bushveld - land that’s home to trees, grasses and thorn bushes. It’s in the long grasses of the bushveld that you’ll find lions stalking their prey and giraffes dining on succulent acacia leaves.

Sandveld - The sandveld, again much like its name, is deep, soft sand that covers most of the rest of the country. The Kalahari Desert and rocky hills in the west and north are all sandveld.

The Kalahari Desert

One of the best-known deserts in the world, the Kalahari covers much of Botswana. The Kalahari reaches from the Orange River in South Africa to Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Technically, the Kalahari is more of a thirstland than a desert because the area supports vegetation including scrub and thorn brush, trees and grassland. The pans of the desert - with their hard, flat surfaces - collect water in the rainy seasons. These small pools attract wildlife that relies on the surrounding vegetation and salts.

Botswana’s geography is as varied as the animals you’ll find on safari. Whether you’re exploring life along the rivers or striking out in a 4x4 to ride along the sand dunes, Botswana has adventures for everyone. Come explore this beautiful country!