valley near
Howick Falls At around in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas and is the eastern most province in the country. 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 consists of an undulating hilly
plateau rising toward the west. Two mountainous areas, the western
Drakensberg Mountains and northern
Lebombo Mountains form, respectively, a solid
basalt wall rising over beside Lesotho border and low parallel ranges of ancient
granite running southward from Eswatini. The area's largest river, the
Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have
subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some
Afromontane Forest. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist
savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly
alpine grassland. The province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The
iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the
uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park have been declared
UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are
wetlands of international importance for
migratory species and are designated as
Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971
Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats and numerous species. The former
Eastern Cape enclave of the town of
Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the
Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at
Hibberdene () to northeast
Lesotho. The province became the first to include a portion of road that is made of partial plastic, the equivalent of nearly 40,000 recycled milk cartons.
Climate KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is
subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder.
Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at with a minimum of , dropping to daytime highs from June to August of with a minimum of . The temperature drops towards the hinterland, with
Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter.
Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches in the summer but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many
sugar cane farms around Pongola.
Borders KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho: •
Maputo Province, Mozambique (far northeast) •
Lubombo District, Eswatini (northeast, east of Shiselweni) •
Shiselweni District, Eswatini (northeast, west of Lubombo) •
Mokhotlong District, Lesotho (southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka) •
Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho (southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek) •
Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho (southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka) Domestically, it borders the following provinces: •
Mpumalanga (north) •
Free State (west) •
Eastern Cape (southwest)
Administrative divisions The KwaZulu-Natal Province is divided into one
metropolitan municipality and ten
district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 44
local municipalities. The local seat of each district municipality is given in parentheses: In 2012, the
Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal, in many municipalities. This amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust.
Metropolitan municipalities •
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (
Durban)
District municipalities •
Amajuba District (
Newcastle) •
Newcastle •
Dannhauser •
eMadlangeni •
Uthukela District (
Ladysmith) •
Emnambithi/Ladysmith •
Indaka •
Umtshezi •
Okhahlamba •
Imbabazane •
Zululand District (
Ulundi) •
Ulundi •
Nongoma •
Abaqulusi •
uPhongolo •
eDumbe •
uMkhanyakude District (
Mkuze) •
Jozini •
Hlabisa •
Umhlabuyalingana •
Mtubatuba •
The Big 5 False Bay •
King Cetshwayo District (
Richards Bay) [formerly uThungulu] •
uMhlathuze •
Umlalazi •
Nkandla •
Mbonambi •
Ntambanana •
Mthonjaneni •
uMzinyathi District (
Dundee) •
Msinga •
Nqutu •
Umvoti •
Endumeni •
uMgungundlovu District (
Pietermaritzburg) •
Msunduzi •
uMshwathi •
uMngeni •
Richmond •
Mkhambathini •
Mpofana •
Impendle •
iLembe District (
kwaDukuza) •
KwaDukuza •
Ndwedwe •
Mandeni •
Maphumulo •
Ugu District (
Port Shepstone) •
Ray Nkonyeni •
uMdoni •
uMuziwabantu •
Umzumbe •
Harry Gwala District (
Ixopo) •
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma •
Johannes Phumani Phungula (formerly Ubuhlebezwe) •
Greater Kokstad •
Umzimkhulu Coastline The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "
The North Coast", while south is "
The South Coast". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns such as
Margate,
Port Shepstone,
Scottburgh and
Port Edward in its definition of the South Coast, while
Ballito,
uMhlanga, Zimbali and
Salt Rock are North Coast resort towns. Beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least-developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province.
Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognised in 2002 as a
Blue Flag beach. Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "
sardine run". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of
sardines migrate from their
spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the
Eastern Cape coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including
game fish,
sharks, dolphins and
seabirds. Usually, the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event.
Interior The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the
Valley of a Thousand Hills to the
Midlands. Their beauty has inspired literature.
Alan Paton, in the novel
Cry, the Beloved Country, wrote: == History ==