Border between Botswana and South Africa

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The border between South Africa (orange) and Botswana (green)

The border between the Republic of Botswana and the Republic of South Africa is several hundred kilometers long and runs in one continuous section. It begins in the east at the border triangle with Zimbabwe , where the Shashe flows into the Limpopo River , and ends in the Kalahari area at the border triangle with Namibia .

geography

At the border triangle in the Mapungubwe National Park. The river from left to right is the Limpopo ; the river that disappears on the horizon is the Shashe . Botswana on the left in the picture
Border crossing from Skilpadshek overlooking the South African side
Boundary course in the dry bed of the Nossob Rivier between Twee Rivieren and Gemsbok

Borderline

The easternmost point of the common border between the two states, located on Limpopo, is a triangle in the Mapungubwe National Park between the state borders of South Africa with Zimbabwe and Botswana. From this point the border with the river runs in a south-westerly direction, following all its bends.

After the confluence of the Crocodile , the so-called upper reaches of the Limpopo, the boundary line is determined by the course of the Marico , which - towards its source - turns south at the Botswana border town of Sikwane and thereby loses its character as a border river. Now the common border extends in the direction of Gaborone without touching the Botswana capital and swings southwest of the Gaborone Dam into its inlet, the Notwane . From this region the border is accompanied by a railway line leading almost south in the direction of South Africa at varying distances from it. Some of the border sections run in a straight line through the landscape.

On the southern flank of the national territory of Botswana, from about the border crossing of Ramatlabama , the common state border follows the course of the Molopo , which only carries water at times. As a result, it reaches the southernmost point of Botswana, where the small town of Bokspits is located far north of the South African city of Upington .

The western border section extends through the arid Kalahari region to the north, beginning at the settlements of Bokspits (BW) and Gemsbok (RSA). The border course lies in the dry bed of the Nossob and has its end point at the territory of Namibia in the border triangle with Botswana at the locality Union's End . There is an information board for tourists there. There is no border post here and the passage to Namibia is blocked by a metal wire fence, from where the unpaved road M39 leads. This border section runs through the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park over its entire length .

The common state border also forms the border of the South African provinces of Limpopo , North West and Northern Cape on the one hand and the Botswana districts of Central , Kgatleng , South East , Southern and Kgalagadi on the other.

Transport links

There are several border crossings to cross the border for road traffic. Some of them lead over bridges because the border is identical to rivers over a large part of its total length. The Cape Town – Francistown railway line crosses the state border in Ramatlabama parallel to the trunk road and is used by Botswana Railways and Transnet Freight Rail for freight transport. In this way, Botswana mainly exports mineral raw materials, of which the coal from the mining areas near Mmamabula is the main focus and also reaches the coal terminal in the port of Richards Bay via the heavy haul logistics system from COALlink . A shorter cross-border rail connection to Lephalale in the South African coal mining area of ​​the Waterberg area is planned.

Water extraction from border rivers

Close to the border on the Botswana side is the Gaborone Dam, a reservoir with the main inflow from the Notwane, which runs a short distance south as a border river . Not far from the Notwane and thus in the border zone, there is an associated reservoir, which is fed by the Taung River or Ngotwane . This forms the border for a short section to the south and flows through the Ngotwana reservoir ( Lehurutshe Dam ) in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality on South African territory, the headwaters of which are near the Dinokana settlement on the N4 .

Border crossings

There are several official border crossings between the two states, which concern trunk and regional roads as well as a railway line.

The border crossings Ramatlabama / Ramatlabama and Pioneer Gate / Skilpadshek are economically and touristically important traffic control and customs registration points between the two countries, as the international traffic routes running here are among the most heavily frequented east-west and north-south long-distance connections.

Botswana South Africa Remarks Coordinates
Street Border crossing Street Border crossing
Transit Road Pontdrift R521 Pontdrif regional border crossing without goods clearance,
open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location in Botswana:
22 ° 12 ′ 50.4 ″  S , 29 ° 8 ′ 17.2 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
22 ° 13 ′ 2.8 ″  S , 29 ° 8 ′ 25.1 ″  E

Platjan Platjan regional border crossing,
open 6 am–6pm
Location in Botswana:
22 ° 29 ′ 5.7 ″  S , 28 ° 49 ′ 53.3 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
22 ° 29 ′ 11 ″  S , 28 ° 50 ′ 6.2 ″  E

Zanzibar R561 Zanzibar regional border crossing,
open 8 am–4pm
Location in Botswana:
22 ° 34 ′ 3.6 ″  S , 28 ° 28 ′ 15.4 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
22 ° 34 ′ 25 ″  S , 28 ° 28 ′ 5 ″  E

Martin's Drift , Martinsdrift , Martins Drift N11 Grobler's Bridge , Groblersbrug Modern border crossing,
international freight handling and control of passenger traffic, 6 am to 10 pm for freight handling
Location in Botswana:
22 ° 59 ′ 46.5 ″  S , 27 ° 56 ′ 19.1 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
22 ° 59 ′ 57.8 ″  S , 27 ° 56 ′ 37.9 ″  E

B145 Parr's Halt , Parrshalt R510 Stockpoort regional border crossing, the
2000 Limpopo flood flooded bridge and adjacent road links, as a result of which the border crossing was closed. Bridge structure from 1937 under monument protection, new bridge planned.
Location in Botswana:
23 ° 24 ′ 7.9 ″  S , 27 ° 21 ′ 9.5 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
23 ° 24 ′ 14.2 ″  S , 27 ° 21 ′ 34.5 ″  E

Sikwane Derdepoort regional border crossing,
open 7 am–7pm
Location in Botswana:
24 ° 38 ′ 34.6 ″  S , 26 ° 24 ′ 14.6 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
24 ° 38 ′ 41 ″  S , 26 ° 24 ′ 20.8 ″  E

Tlokweng , Tlokweng Gate R49 Kopfontein , Kopfontein Gate regional border crossing,
open 6 am to midnight
Location in Botswana:
24 ° 42 ′ 18.6 ″  S , 26 ° 5 ′ 32.2 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
24 ° 42 ′ 26.4 ″  S , 26 ° 5 ′ 42.7 ″  E

Ramotswa Swartkopfontein , Swartkopfontein Gate regional border crossing,
open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed according to Google maps)
Location in Botswana:
24 ° 52 ′ 16.7 ″  S , 25 ° 52 ′ 50.1 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
24 ° 52 ′ 26.6 ″  S , 25 ° 53 ′ 10.9 ″  E

A2 ( Trans-Kalahari-Highway ) Pioneer Gate N4 Skilpadshek Modern border crossing,
international freight handling and control of passenger traffic, 6 am to midnight for freight handling
Location in Botswana:
25 ° 16 ′ 29.2 ″  S , 25 ° 42 ′ 45.3 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
25 ° 16 ′ 39.7 ″  S , 25 ° 43 ′ 0.7 ″  E

A1 Ramatlabama N18 Ramatlabama Modern border crossing,
international freight handling and control of passenger traffic, 6 am to 10 pm for freight handling
Location in Botswana:
25 ° 38 ′ 19 ″  S , 25 ° 34 ′ 26.5 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
25 ° 38 ′ 55.5 ″  S , 25 ° 34 ′ 32.3 ″  E

Phitshane Molopo , Pitsane Molopo Makgobistad regional border crossing,
open 7 am-4pm
Location in Botswana:
25 ° 44 ′ 51.3 ″  S , 25 ° 6 ′ 24.4 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
25 ° 45 ′ 0.5 ″  S , 25 ° 6 ′ 27 ″  E

Bray (Hereford) R375 Bray regional border crossing,
open 8 am–4pm
Location in Botswana:
25 ° 27 ′ 19.9 ″  S , 23 ° 42 ′ 46 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
25 ° 27 ′ 25.8 ″  S , 23 ° 42 ′ 53 ″  E

A20 Makopong R375 Makopong regional border crossing,
open 8 am–4pm
Location in Botswana:
25 ° 21 ′ 54.9 ″  S , 22 ° 58 ′ 21.5 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
25 ° 21 ′ 55.1 ″  S , 22 ° 58 ′ 28.9 ″  E

A20 McCarthy's Rust (Tshabong), McCarthy's Rest R380 McCarthy's rest regional border crossing,
open 7.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Location in Botswana:
26 ° 11 ′ 48.8 ″  S , 22 ° 34 ′ 2.5 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
26 ° 12 ′ 11.7 ″  S , 22 ° 34 ′ 9.4 ″  E

Middlepits , middleputs Middleputs regional border crossing,
open 7.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Location in Botswana:
26 ° 39 ′ 57.2 ″  S , 21 ° 53 ′ 11.1 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
26 ° 40 ′ 31.4 ″  S , 21 ° 53 ′ 4.5 ″  E

Bokspits R360 Gemsbok regional border crossing,
open 7.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Location in Botswana:
26 ° 53 ′ 30.1 ″  S , 20 ° 41 ′ 51.1 ″  E

Location in South Africa:
26 ° 54 ′ 19.1 ″  S , 20 ° 41 ′ 25.5 ″  E

Two rivers R360 Twee Rivieren regional border crossing,
open 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
Location in South Africa:
26 ° 28 ′ 31.3 ″  S , 20 ° 36 ′ 50.3 ″  E

history

After two weeks of persistent rainfall, the Limpopo caused severe flooding in March 2014. As a result of this weather event, some bridges at the border crossings were endangered, so that border traffic at the stations Platjan, Grobler's Bridge, Zanzibar and Pontdrift had to be interrupted. The traffic affected had to switch to crossings further south.

Events

The Pride of Africa luxury train occasionally runs via Mahikeng , Gaborone , Mahalapye and Francistown to Bulawayo in neighboring Zimbabwe and on to Victoria Falls .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. View on Google maps. on www.google.com (English)
  2. Photo on Panoramio, proof of the spelling of the location (English)
  3. Portia Nkani: Transnet to transport Botswana coal . Message from the Botswana Gazette from April 10, 2013 on www.gazettebw.com ( Memento from April 22, 2015 in the web archive archive.today )
  4. ^ Botswana Railways: About us . on www.botswanarailways.co.bw (English)
  5. ^ Railway Gazette: Transnet to expand heavy haul operations . News from June 6, 2013 on www.railwaygazette.com (English)
  6. Botshelo Water: Services . on www.botshelowater.co.za  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.botshelowater.co.za  
  7. ^ Botswana-South Africa Border Crossings . on www.drivesouthafrica.co.za (English)
  8. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Government of Botswana: Before You Go . on www.gov.bw (English)
  9. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Platjan . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  10. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Platjan . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  11. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Zanzibar . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  12. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Grobler's Bridge . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  13. Meepong Energy (Pty) Ltd .: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): The Mmamabula Energy Project. Parr's Halt / Stockpoort Border Crossing. DEA / BOD7 / 9XLVI (113) . Randburg 2009, p. 21 and 24. online at www1.eis.gov.bw, PDF document p. 39 and 42 ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  14. Stockpoort / Parr's Halt. on www. saportsofentry.blogspot.de (English)
  15. Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Derdepoort . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  16. Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Kopfontein Gate . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  17. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Swartkopfontein Gate . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  18. Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Skilpadshek . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  19. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Ramatlabama . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  20. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Makgobistad . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  21. a b Botswana Tourism Organization: Ports of Entry into Botswana. Border posts. Botswana / South Africa . on www.botswanatourism.co.bw ( Memento from April 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  22. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Bray . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  23. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Makopong . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  24. Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: McCarthy's Rest . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  25. Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Middleputs . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  26. ^ Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. on www.southafrica-travel.net (English)
  27. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Gemsbok . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  28. ^ Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee: Twee Rivieren . on www.borders.sars.gov.za (English)
  29. 24.com Botswana border posts closed over floods . News from March 16, 2014 on www.news24.com (English)
  30. Rovos: Victoria Falls . on www.rovos.com (English)
  31. Rovos: Route maps. on www.rovos.com (English)