Capital City: |
Mafikeng |
Area: |
104,882 square kilometres |
Population: |
3,509,953 (in 2011) |
The North West province lies between Gauteng and Botswana and has Mahikeng for its capital. Although part of the Magaliesberg Mountain Range extends into the North West, much of the province is flat. There are a number of game parks in the province including Pilanesberg Game Reserve as well as many private game parks. Sun City is one of South Africa’s premier tourist destinations and it lies on the border of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. Johannesburg and Pretoria residents also make use of the attractions offered by the province. Hartbeespoort Dam is close to both cities and it is visited for day trips and longer. The main economic activity in the North West is mining with platinum, uranium gold and diamonds being the main minerals. There is also a substantial amount of agriculture, including game farming, and tourism also plays a major part in generating revenue for the province. The province experiences hot summers while winters can get quite cold at times. Most rainfall occurs during spring and summer. Rustenburg is the largest city with a population of over 500,000 people.
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