<P> KwaZulu - Natal is a South African Province that lies entirely below the Great Escarpment, which forms its western and south - western boundaries . It therefore constitutes part of the South African "Coastal Belt", which is, over much of this region, more than 220 km wide . The region can be subdivided into three distinct geographic areas . The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province, while the central Natal Midlands consist of an undulating hilly, 1000 m high plateau, rising to 1500 m towards the west, at the foot of the Great Escarpment . The Great Escarpment, known here as the Drakensberg, together with the Lebombo Mountains in the north form the mountainous regions of the province . </P> <P> The coastal regions are typically covered with subtropical thickets, while the deeper ravines and steep slopes of the river valleys host Afromontane Forest . The midlands are covered in moist grasslands with isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest . The north consists, in the main, of moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland . </P> <P> Most of the KwaZulu - Natal Drakensberg are at an altitude of 2000 m, but where they form the border with Lesotho they rise to over 3000 m . The Lebombo mountains are a long narrow range, not much higher than 700 m, that runs along Mozambique's border with South Africa and Swaziland . From Swaziland the range continues south - eastwards for about 40 km into KwaZulu - Natal . </P> <P> A great number of rivers arise in the Drakensberg . These have cut fairly deep valleys, and occasionally gorges, into the KwaZulu - Natal landscape giving the province a very hilly appearance . The Valley of a Thousand Hills, between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, is particularly spectacular . The largest of the rivers is the Tugela, portion of whose waters are pumped over the Escarpment on to the Highveld to supplement the water supply to the large industrial cities of Gauteng . </P>

An extensive plateau of south africa namibia and botswana