Gauteng

Gauteng
Gauteng [gou′teŋ΄]
province of South Africa, in the N part: 7,263 sq mi (18,810 sq km); pop. 6,869,000; cap. Johannesburg

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      province, northeastern South Africa. It consists of the cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Germiston, and Vereeniging and their surrounding metropolitan areas in the eastern part of the Witwatersrand region. Gauteng is the smallest South African province. It is bordered by the provinces of Limpopo on the north, Mpumalanga on the east, Free State on the south, and North-West on the west. Until 1994 Gauteng (called Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging in 1994–95) was part of the former Transvaal province. The provincial capital is Johannesburg.

      Gauteng lies on the great interior plateau of southern Africa (the Highveld) and stretches northward from the Vaal River. South of Pretoria there is rolling grassland, and to the north of the city is bushveld. The province's climate is warm and temperate, and rainfall averages 26 inches (650 mm) annually.

      Blacks make up about three-fourths of the province's population, whites about one-fifth. Several languages are spoken in the province; the most widely spoken are Zulu, Afrikaans, Sotho, and English.

      Though the province is largely urbanized, some farming (corn [maize], sorghum, peanuts [groundnuts]), market gardening, and dairy farming are practiced. Gauteng contains enormous concentrations of gold, mainly in the ridge of gold-bearing rock in the south known as the Witwatersrand, where Johannesburg is located. There are also large reserves of platinum, chromite, iron ore, and uranium in the Bushveld Basin to the north. The varied assemblage of mining, industrial, commercial, and financial activities arising from this vast mineral wealth have made Gauteng the economic hub of South Africa and its most densely populated province.

      Pretoria is the administrative (executive) capital of South Africa. Johannesburg is one of South Africa's largest metropolitan areas and its leading industrial, financial, and commercial centre. Johannesburg International Airport is the nation's main international airport. Four universities—those of South Africa, Pretoria, Witwatersrand, and Johannesburg—are located in the province. The fossil hominid sites of Swartkrans, Sterkfontein, Kromdraai, and environs, collectively known as the Cradle of Humankind, are mostly in Gauteng and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Area 6,568 square miles (17,010 square km). Pop. (2005 est.) 9,018,000.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Gauteng — Provincia de Sudáfrica …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gauteng — Symbole …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gauteng —   [x ; Sotho »Platz des Goldes«], Provinz im Nordosten der Republik Südafrika, 17 010 km2, 7,87 Mio. Einwohner, Hauptstadt ist Johannesburg. Gauteng grenzt im Norden an die Nordprovinz, im Osten an die Provinz Mpumalanga, im Süden an die Provinz… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Gauteng — es una provincia de Sudáfrica. La provincia antiguamente formaba parte de Transvaal, hasta las elecciones multirraciales del 27 de abril de 1994. Al principio se la llamó Pretoria Witwatersrand Vereeniging (o PWV) pero en diciembre de ese año… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Gauteng — (le) prov. de l Afrique du Sud créée en 1994; 18 760 km²; 6 847 000 hab. Cap. Johannesburg. C est la région écon. de l Afrique du Sud et la plus peuplée. Elle englobe le Witwatersrand …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gauteng — [gou′teŋ΄] province of South Africa, in the N part: 7,263 sq mi (18,810 sq km); pop. 6,869,000; cap. Johannesburg …   English World dictionary

  • Gauteng — 26° S 28° E / 26, 28 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gauteng — Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Gauteng Country and Admin Code ZA.06 ZA …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

  • Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs — is a department of the Gauteng provincial government.Parks Managed by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs* Abe Bailey Nature Reserve * Alice Glockner Nature Reserve * Marievale Bird Sanctuary *… …   Wikipedia

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