SPACEPHOTOS

This near-vertical photograph has a prominent circular physiographic feature near its center—the Pilanesberg Mountains. With a maximum elevation of 5535 feet (1685 meters) above sea level, these mountains are located approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Pretoria in northeastern South Africa. Other physiographic features are elevated roughly 2000 feet (610 meters) above the surrounding terrain. The mountains are part of a highly mineralized region where diamonds, platinum, chrome, uranium, and tin are mined. The small rural town of Rustenburg, with an estimated population 30 000, is barely visible south of the Pilanesberg Mountains and east of the linear mountains that are also south of the Pilanesbergs. The eastward-flowing Elands River can be seen immediately south of the Pilanesbergs. In addition to the mining activity, this region produces such crops as fruits, tobacco, and cotton. Most climatologists place this region in a semiarid, steppe classification, where rainfall amounts generally do not exceed 20 inches (50 centimeters) annually.