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Tsoelike Valley, Lesotho - Coggle Diagram
Tsoelike Valley, Lesotho
Site
Most of the settlements in Tsoelike Valley are below an altitude of 2250 meters
At that altitude, it is warm enough to cultivate crops
Most settlements are below 2250m where it is warm enough for crops
As there are various smalll streams and springs in the area, water supply is generally not a problem
Most Tsoelike Valley settlements are on the north-facing slope
The north-facing slope receives more sunlight than the south-facing slope (makes cultivation easier)
The valley floor is avoided as it is boggy and poorly drained
Liable to flooding
Tsoelike Valley, Lesotho is located in Southern Africa
There is one bus a day to the capital of Lesotho, Maseru
The rural settlements in Lesotho are mostly in uncleared or dispersed patterns
Settlements are nucleated for reasons such as defence, health shops and water distribution
Reasons for dispersed settlements include shortage of flat land for crops and grazing cattle
The highest land is only inhabited in the summer for grazing cattle
On benches on Valley sides
The flat land means easier access
Avoidance of Valley floor
The valley floor is poorly drained and prone to flooding
Transport points are near cultivated areas, along roads, tracks and rivers, or on benches on valley sides.
Problems
Steep mountinous relief means the land is more suitable for animal grazing, but not suitable for crop farming (only small percentage is)
Short growing season and a risk of late frosts exist
Communal grazing discourages growing winter crops
Soil erosion caused by running water is a constant threat
Crops can be damaged by hailstorms and locusts
Lack of employment
Land is being fragmented into small plots (and scattered over the area) due to a complex system of allocating people (the land tenure system)
A shortage of labour at peak times (like harvest) has been caused by men leaving Tsoelike Valley to work in the South African mines
Growing population has increased the pressure on the availble arable land
Young people no longer want to work in agriculture
Changes
Employment is now being provided by forestry, public services and administration
Improvement has been seen in the main road through the Tsoelike Valley to the South African border at Ramaseliso’s gate (A4)
Qacha’s Nek has a farmer training centre which aims to introduce better agricultural methods
Methods of soil conversation are focused on
Situation
The Tsoelike Valley settlements are surrounded by mountains (it is in an mountainous area)
Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa (909km border between Lesotho and South Africa)
The nearest town, Qacha’s Nek, is 15km away
The town provides many services such as shops, primary and secondary schools, the government hospital, the Lesotho bank, the farmer training centre, local government offices, a church, forestry division offices, a nursery and a hotel
Qacha’s Nek has the population of about 8000
Services and Settlement Hierarchy
Settlements like Tsoelike Valley are at the lowest part of the settlement hierachy
There are only services like gerneral stores
The highest order in the hierachy in Lesotho is it’s capital (Maseru)
Maseru is over 250km away from Tsoelike Valley and takes nine hours by a once daily bus service to get to
Maseru has an international airport and the national government