Kasane | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 17°49′S025°09′E / 17.817°S 25.150°E | |
Country | Botswana |
District | Chobe District |
Population (Census 2001) [1] | |
• Total | 9,008 |
Climate | BSh |
Kasane is a town in Botswana, close to Africa's 'Four Corners', where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe almost meet. The town is at the far northeastern corner of Botswana where it serves as the administrative center of the Chobe District. The population of Kasane was 9,244 at the 2011 census. [2]
Kasane briefly obtained international fame as the location of the remarriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Richard Burton, in 1975.
The town lies on the south bank of the 200–300 metres (660–980 ft) wide Chobe River which forms the border with the extreme tip of Namibia's Caprivi Strip. The Namibian island of Impalila lies opposite the town on the north bank of the river, and there is a border crossing by passenger ferry to Namibia. [3] About 8 kilometres (5 mi) to the east of Kasane is the village of Kazungula, where Botswana has 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) of frontage to the Zambezi river immediately below its confluence with the Chobe River. Here the Kazungula border post serves the Kazungula Bridge crossing to Kazungula in Zambia on the north bank of the Zambezi. Nearby a second border post serves the road into Zimbabwe which runs 70 kilometres (43 mi) east to Victoria Falls.
Kasane is at the northern end of the tarred highway from Francistown and Gaborone which is a regional artery between southern and central Africa particularly for trucks too heavy for the Victoria Falls Bridge's periodic weight restrictions. There is also a tarred road to the Namibian border 51 km west at Ngoma.
Kasane is at the north-eastern boundary of Chobe National Park and its road links make it a popular access point for tourists to the park as well as those including it in an itinerary taking in the Okavango Delta, the Caprivi Strip and Victoria Falls.
The town is served by Kasane Airport.
Kasane has a number of campsites and lodges (accommodations oriented towards the safari business). These lodges offer day trips into the Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls, and boat trips on the Chobe River. [4]
Kasane has ABSA Bank, First National Bank, Stanbic and Standard Chartered Bank with ATM facility.
Climate data for Kasane (1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.8 (87.4) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.5 (86.9) | 28.6 (83.5) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.4 (84.9) | 33.0 (91.4) | 34.5 (94.1) | 33.1 (91.6) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.5 (86.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.8 (65.8) | 16.2 (61.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 9.9 (49.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 12.2 (54.0) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.3 (66.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 19.7 (67.5) | 16.1 (61.0) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 133.9 (5.27) | 134.1 (5.28) | 70.1 (2.76) | 22.8 (0.90) | 2.2 (0.09) | 0.5 (0.02) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.5 (0.06) | 20.2 (0.80) | 62.7 (2.47) | 127.3 (5.01) | 575.3 (22.66) |
Average rainy days (≥ 10 mm) | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
Source: World Meteorological Organization [5] |
Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, north of South Africa. Botswana occupies an area of 581,730 square kilometres (224,610 sq mi), of which 566,730 km2 (218,820 sq mi) are land. Botswana has land boundaries of combined length 4,347.15 kilometres (2,701.19 mi), of which the constituent boundaries are shared with Namibia, for 1,544 km (959 mi); South Africa 1,969 km (1,223 mi); Zimbabwe, 834 km (518 mi) and Zambia, 0.15 km (0.093 mi). Much of the population of Botswana is concentrated in the eastern part of the country.
Transportation in Botswana is provided by an extensive network of railways, highways, ferry services and air routes that criss-cross the country. The transport sector in Botswana played an important role in economic growth following its independence in 1966. The country discovered natural resources which allowed it to finance the development of infrastructure, and policy ensured that the transport sector grew at an affordable pace commensurate with demands for services.
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half of the Nile's. The 2,574 km (1,599 mi) river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.
The Zambezi Region is one of Namibia's fourteen regions, situated in the north-eastern part of the country along the Zambezi River where it gets its name from. The region's capital is the town of Katima Mulilo. The Katima Mulilo Airport is 18 kilometres south-west of the town, while the village of Bukalo is located 43 kilometres south-east of Katima Mulilo. Formerly known as the Caprivi Region until 2013, it has eight electoral constituencies and a population of 142,373 according to the 2023 census.
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint.
The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called the Linyanti River and, farther east, the Chobe River, before it flows into the Zambezi River.
Victoria Falls, popularly known as Vic Falls, is a resort town and city in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves. According to the 2022 Population Census, the town had a population of 35,199.
The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road, formerly known as the Trans-Caprivi Corridor and until 2004 the Trans-Caprivi Highway, begins in Walvis Bay. It runs through Rundu in northeastern Namibia and along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mulilo on the Zambezi River, which forms the border between Namibia and Zambia. The Katima Mulilo Bridge spans the river to the Zambian town of Sesheke. From there, the road continues as the M10 Road to Livingstone, where it connects to the main north–south highway to Lusaka and extends to the Copperbelt.
Kazungula is a small border town in Zambia, lying on the north bank of the Zambezi River about 70 kilometres (45 mi) west of Livingstone on the M10 Road.
Kazungula is a small border post settlement in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe close to Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. Just to the west is the Botswana border village of Kazungula, from where there is a bridge for vehicles across the Zambezi River to the town in Zambia also called Kazungula.
Kasane International Airport is an airport serving Kasane, a town in the Chobe District of Botswana. The airport is located along the A33 road, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the town and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the border with Namibia.
The Kazungula Ferry was a pontoon ferry across the 400-metre-wide (1,300 ft) Zambezi River between Botswana and Zambia. It was one of the largest ferries in south-central Africa, having a capacity of 70 tonnes. The service was provided by two motorised pontoons and operated between border posts at Kazungula, Zambia and Kazungula, Botswana.
The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria Falls in Livingstone, via Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo, measuring approximately 430 kilometres (267 mi). The entire route is part of Trans-African Highway network number 4 or Cairo-Cape Town Highway between Cairo and Cape Town.
The Ikuhane people, also known as the Subiya or Subia, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They are part of the larger Lozi ethnic group and have significant populations in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. Their language is known as the Kuhane language (Chikuhane) or the Subia language (Chisubia), but Silozi is used as the formal language in official, educational, and media contexts.
Impalila is an island at the far eastern tip of Namibia, bounded on the north by the waters of the Zambezi river and on the south by the Chobe River. It is home to some 2500–3000 people in 25 small villages, including Tswanas and Subia people.
Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world, spanning the international borders of five countries in Southern Africa. It includes a major part of the Upper Zambezi River and Okavango basins and Delta, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, the southeastern part of Angola, southwestern Zambia, the northern wildlands of Botswana and western Zimbabwe. The centre of this area is at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. It incorporates a number of notable national parks and nature sites, including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, and the Victoria Falls. The region is home to a population of approximately 250,000 animals, including the largest population of African Elephants in the world.
Kazungula is a village in the far north of Botswana, 8 km east of the town of Kasane. It lies on the south bank of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers.
Kafubu is a small village on the eastern tip of the Caprivi Strip, across from Kasane, Botswana on the Chobe River in Namibia. With a population of between 200 and 300, Kafubu villagers are mostly Subiya cultivators and fishermen. The village can only be reached by boat, with a small Namibian customs office located nearby. Several large baobab trees dot the area. Most homes in Kafubu are made of reeds and dirt. Tourists visiting Kafubu from nearby Kasane and Chobe National Park can tour the village and buy crafts.
The A33 is a 363-kilometre-long (226 mi) road in Botswana that connects the Caprivi Strip of Namibia as well as Zambia with Nata via Kazungula. It is an important route used by motorists from Zambia and the Caprivi Strip to access the towns of Botswana.
The M10 road is a road in Zambia. It goes from Livingstone, through Sesheke and Senanga, to Mongu. The road is approximately 508 kilometres and follows the Zambezi River for its entire length.