THE 
VoL. VII NOVEMBER, 1896 No. 11 
THE WITWATERSRAND AND THE REVOLT OF THE 
UITLANDERS* 
By George F. Becker, 
United States Geological Survey 
The South African Republic, or, as it is more often called, The 
Transvaal, lies in southeastern Africa, between the Limpopo or 
Crocodile river on the north and the Vaal river on the south. 
Portuguese and British possessions shut it off from the Indian 
ocean on the east, and the country to the north and west of the 
republic is also British. The Vaal river is tributary to the 
Orange, which flows into the Atlantic, Avhile the Limpopo emp- 
ties into the Indian ocean. The watershed between these rivers 
is the Witwatersrand, or white-water-range, which trends nearl}^ 
east and west about south latitude 26°, and is therefore onl}'- 150 
geographical miles from the tropic of Capricorn. 
The Transvaal may be roughly described as an elevated 
plateau, most of which lies between 4,000 and 6,000 feet al)ove 
sea level. To the north of the Witwatemrand the general level 
is not much over 4,000 feet. Immediately to the south of this 
watershed, near Johannesburg, the elevation is about 6,000 feet, 
gradually diminishing toward the Vaal, The general aspect of 
the country reminds one of the Laramie plains, but the rainfall 
averages about 80 inches, and the climate is mild and equable. 
The soil is only moderately fertile, and 15 years ago the country 
was considered fit for nothing but pastoral occujiation. 
The Witwatersraud, in the neighborhood of Johannesburg, 
consists of ui)turned edges of a thick mass of (piartzites, shales, 
and conglomerates, known as the Lower Cape formation. These 
* Paper read before the National Geographic .Society, October 10, 1890. 
23 
