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Gauteng
is one of nine provinces in South Africa. It
was formed after the first free elections in 1994
from part of the old Transvaal province. Originally
called Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging
(or PWV, it was renamed Gauteng in December the same
year.
The name Gauteng comes from the
Sesotho phrase
meaning "place of gold", which in turn was derived
from the Afrikaans for gold (goud) plus the suffix "ng"
meaning 'place'. Gold was first discovered in 1886
in what is now the city of Johannesburg.
Situated in the heart of the Highveld, Gauteng
is the smallest province in South Africa with only
1.4% of the land area (17,010 km˛), but it is highly
urbanised. It has a population of nine million made
up of 74% Black, 20% White and 4% Coloured and just
over 2% Asian.
The first language spoken by most is
isiXhosa
(21%),
followed by Afrikaans (14%),
Sesotho (13%) and
English
(12%).
The major
cities and towns in Gauteng
are Benoni, Edenvale, Johannesburg,
Pretoria,
Soweto, Vanderbijlpark
and Vereeniging. Johannesburg, is the
provincial capital, whereas
Pretoria is the nation's
administrative
capital.
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Related pages
Benoni, Edenvale, Johannesburg,
Pretoria,
Soweto, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging
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A ninety-minute drive north-west of
Johannesburg brings you to the Magaliesberg
mountains – an area of great scenic beauty
with superb rock formations, plunging
waterfalls and meandering streams.
Visit Mrs Ples - a 2.3-million year-old
fossil of Australopithecus africanus,
a distant relative of Homo sapiens -
at The Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage
Site. See the Wonder Caves with their
impressive display of live stalagmites and
stalactites.
Drive to the Tswaing Meteorite Impact
Crater, one of the youngest and
best-preserved meteorite impact craters in
the world where over 200,000 years ago a
meteor crashed into the earth just north of
present-day Pretoria.
See wildlife close up at the Lion and
Rhino Park near Johannesburg, or visit the
De Wildt Cheetah Research Station on the way
to the scenic Hartbeespoort Dam.
Rugby union is popular in the province with
three major rugby teams:
Pretoria-based Blue
Bulls, the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions
and the East Rand-based Falcons. Football is
also popular with two major teams: the Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates.
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