This vast area is divided into three separate watersheds, the most important one divides the waters of the South Atlantic from the Indian Ocean. This watershed commences at the extreme southern point on the Drakensberg mountain in Natal, 10,000 feet in altitude, following that range round to New Scotland, 6100 feet in altitude, in the Transvaal, then turns west, along the high veldt between Potchefstroom and Pretoria, 6300 feet, to the north of Lichtenburg, a town in the same State, 6100 feet, then in a north-west direction through a portion of Bechuanaland, the Kalahara desert, to Ovampoland, 4300 in altitude, on to Benguela, the Portuguese settlement on the west coast. All on the west of this shed the country is drained by the Orange and Vaal rivers and their tributaries, and the Swakop and other small streams in Damaraland, into the South Atlantic Ocean. The second watershed commences on the high land, 4260 feet in altitude, half-way through the desert, in 23 degrees 40 minutes South latitude, 23 degrees 20 minutes East longitude, takes a north-east direction, passing on the east side of the great brak vlei Makarakara, along the granite range of the Molopo in Matabeleland, on to the Lobolo mountain, 4500 feet in altitude, near the Zambese river, 300 miles from its mouth. The above river and its tributaries drain the country on the north of this watershed, and is called the Zambese basin; on the south side it is drained by the Limpopo river and its tributaries, called the Limpopo basin; both rivers discharge themselves into the Indian Ocean. These three large rivers, the Orange, Zambese, and Limpopo, with their branches, with the exception of a small portion of great Namaqua and Damaralands on the west coast, and also part of Umzela's territory and the Transvaal by Delagoa Bay on the east coast, drain nearly 2,000,000 square miles of South Central Africa. The Orange, south of the above region, with its tributaries, drain the Orange Free State, and part of the Cape Colony, to the extent of 170,000 square miles in addition. Each of these river systems I propose to describe, as they form the principal geographical features, previous to going more into the detail of the several territories ruled over by independent chiefs. THE ZAMBESE SYSTEM, COVERING AN AREA OF 860,000 SQUARE MILES.