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DESCRIPTION:
SOUTH AFRICA. As a geographical unit South Africa is usually held to
be that part of the continent south of the middle course of the Zambezi.
In the geographical sense stated South Africa lies between
16 and 35 5. and 12 and 36 E., narrows from 100 m. from west to east
along its northern border to some 600 m. of coast facing south. Its
greatest length south-west to north-east is also about 1600 m. It has
an area of about 1,333,000 sq. m. It comprises the Union of South Africa
(i.e. the provinces of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, with Zululand,
the Orange Free State and the Transvaal); Basutoland, Bechuanaland,
Swaziland and Southern Rhodesia, all British possessions; German South-West
Africa, and the southern part of Portuguese East Africa. By some writers
Northern Rhodesia is included in South Africa, but that district belongs
more accurately to the central portion of the continent. Other writers
confine the term to the British possessions south of the Zambezi, but
in this case British South Africa is the proper designation. South African
standard time, adopted in 1903, is that of 30 E., or two hours in advance
of Greenwich.
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