Botswana is surrounded by land consisting of South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and is situated North West of South Africa. The total area is 520 000 square kilometers, two thirds comprise of plains covered with bush grass and shrubs. Botswana has spread out vegetation covered by flat, dry Kalahari Desert and has alot of plant and animal life. Wildlife Reserves that are worth visiting in Botswana are Moremi Wildlife Sanctuary and Chobe National Park, because of Botswana's vast wilderness, it is a great venue for nature and wildlife enthusiasts.

In Northern Botswana are the Makgadikgadi Pans (the largest in the World), which are made up of many salt panswith desert in between. The twin pans of Sua and Ntwetwe are located starting from about 130km from Francistown (where Gold was discovered) en route to Maun.

Protectorate (In International Law) status was granted to Botswana due to three Tswana chiefs who requested it and the reason why the requested it was the Boers threatened to move in on the discovery of the Gold in Francistown. Bostwana retained the Protectorate status for 80 years then following its fellow British colonies, such as Zabia and South Africa, to independence as a democratic republic in September 1966.

The capital of Botswana is Gaborone which was named after Batlokwa tribe chief, Kgosi Gaborone, who settled in the area in the 1890's. In and around Gaborone there are many hotels, some are Internation standing and some have casinos. Gaborone has its own 500 hectare game reserve along the Notwane River on which the Gaborone Dam can also be found. An interesting place is the prehistoric caves located in Labatse which is south of Gaborone. Setswana (the National language of Botswana)is the most spoken language in Botswana

Botswana is mostly flat with hills and deep valleys, to the east of Botswana are the highest and lowest points between 1500m and 500m. The most popular region to the Batswana (Botswana people) is the eastern region, which straddles the north-south railway line, the reason for this is the more temperate climate.

Botswana's climate is subtropical, there is summer rainfall in higher areas between the months of October and April. The average maximum tempreture range is from 22 degrees C (July month) to 33 degrees C (January month). The average minimum tempreture range is from 5 degrees C to 19 degrees C. Mostly there is bright sunshine all year-round, between eight and ten hours of the day with general clear sky's and relatively low humidity.

Botswana Coat of arms

The Botswana Coat Of Arms was adopted on the 25th January 1966. The center shield is supported by two zebras (Important part of Botswana's wildlife), the right Zebra holds a ear of Sorghum (Important crop of Botswana), the left Zebra holds a tusk of Ivory, symbolic of the former Ivory trade in Botswana.

The top of the shield are three cogwheels that represent industry.

Three waves symbolize water, this reminds the viewer the motto of Botswana which is "Pula" this means "rain". The motto highlights the importance of water to Botswana. The motto is located on the blue banner at the bottom of the coat of arms.

At the bottom of the Coat Of Arms is the bull's head which symbolizes the importance of cattle hearding in Botswana.

Botswana Flag

The Botswana flag was adopted on the 30th September 1966.

The colour of the flag is light blue with a horizontal black band across the center, with small white stripes above and below the black band.

The Blue colour represents water, more specifically rain. And the white and black bands represents racial harmony.

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