Editing Highveld (section)

==Location and description==
The Highveld constitutes almost all of the provinces of [[Free State (South African province)|Free State]] and [[Gauteng]] and portions of the surrounding areas: the western rim of Lesotho and portions of the [[Eastern Cape]], [[Northern Cape]], [[North West (South African province)|North West]], [[Limpopo]], and [[Mpumalanga]] provinces of South Africa.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica; Macropaedia Vol 17, p. 66. (1974) Helen Hemingway Bento Publishers, Chicago.</ref>  The highest part of the Highveld, around {{Convert|2100|m|abbr=on}}, is its northeastern well-defined boundary, where the plateau escarpment (the Mpumalanga [[Drakensberg]]) separates it from the Mpumalanga [[Veld#Lowveld|Lowveld]], (containing, amongst others, the [[Kruger National Park]]).<ref>Dictionary of South African English (1993) Oxford University Press, Cape Town</ref> Another well defined boundary is to its north where the [[Magaliesberg]] separates the Highveld from the Bushveld. The continuation of the [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]] to the south separates the Highveld from KwaZulu-Natal.<ref name= "atlas">Atlas of Southern Africa p. 13 (1984) Reader's Digest & the Directorate of Surveys and Mapping</ref> The south-eastern portion of the Great Escarpment (that portion of the Great Escarpment most commonly referred to as ''the'' [[Drakensberg]]) rises to over 3000&nbsp;m and forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The latter mountainous region is, however, not generally referred to as Highveld, whose boundary at this point runs just inside the Lesotho-Free State border, about {{Convert|2000|m|abbr=on}}. From its eastern boundary, the Highveld slopes gently downwards to be bounded by the [[Great Karoo]] to the south, the [[Kalahari]] desert to the west, the [[Bushveld]] to the north, the Mpumalanga Lowveld to the northeast, KwaZulu-Natal to the east, and the [[Geography of Lesotho|Lesotho Highlands, or Mountains]], to the southeast.<ref name= "atlas"/> The Highveld covers an area of almost  {{Convert|400000|km2|abbr=on}}, or roughly 30% of South Africa's land area.

The Highveld terrain is generally devoid of mountains, consisting of rolling plains, especially in the Free State, sometimes interrupted by rocky ridges such as the [[Witwatersrand]], the [[Magaliesberg]], and [[Vredefort Dome]]. The [[Vaal River]] and its tributaries form the main water drainage system of the Highveld. Tributaries of the [[Orange River]] drain the most southerly regions of the Highveld.

The Highveld [[rainy season]] occurs in summer, with substantial afternoon thunderstorms being typical occurrences in November, December, and January. Frost occurs in winter.