Editing Geography of Botswana (section)

==Geography==
The land is predominantly flat to gently undulating [[Plateaus|tableland]], although there is some hilly country, where [[Mining industry of Botswana|mining]] is carried out. The [[Kalahari Desert]] is in the central and the southwest. The [[Okavango Delta]], one of the world's largest inland deltas, is in the northwest and the [[Makgadikgadi Pans]], a large [[Salt pan (geology)|salt pan]] lies in the north-central area. The Makgadikgadi has been established as an early habitation area for primitive man; This large seasonal [[wetland]] is composed of several large component pans, the largest being [[Nwetwe Pan]], [[Sua Pan]] and [[Nxai Pan]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan (2008) [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22373&mode=&order=0 ''Makgadikgadi'', Megalithic Portal, ed. A.Burnham]</ref> Botswana's lowest elevation point is at the junction of the [[Limpopo River|Limpopo]] and Shashe Rivers, at a height of {{convert|513|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The highest point is [[Monalanong Hill]], at {{convert|1494|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
The country is divided into four drainage regions, which are sometimes indistinct due to the arid nature of the climate:
* the [[Chobe River]] on the border with the [[Caprivi Strip]] of Namibia together with a small adjacent swampy area is part of the [[Zambezi]] basin;
* most of the north and central region of the country is part of the [[Okavango Basin|Okavango]] inland [[drainage basin]];
* the easternmost part of the country falls into the [[Limpopo]] drainage basin;
* the southern and southwestern regions, which are the driest of all, are drained by the [[Molopo River|Molopo]] river along the South African border and the [[Nossob River|Nossob river]] through the [[Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park|Kalahari Gemsbok National Park]], and are technically part of the basin of the [[Orange River]]. None of these rivers normally flows as far as the Orange, however. (The last recorded confluence was in the 1880s.)<ref>Times Comprehensive Atlas, (2007), Times Books, London</ref>
Except for the Chobe, Okavango, [[Boteti]] and [[Limpopo river]]s, most of Botswana's rivers cease to flow during the dry and early rainy seasons.

In Botswana [[forest cover]] is around 27% of the total land area, equivalent to 15,254,700 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 18,803,700 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 15,254,700 hectares, of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be [[primary forest]] (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 11% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 24% of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]] and 76% [[Private property|private ownership]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref>