Lesotho
The mountain kingdom in the sky, surrounded by South Africa
Lesotho is the world's only country entirely above 1,000 meters in elevation, a rugged mountain kingdom completely encircled by South Africa. Often called the Kingdom in the Sky, it is built on the high basalt plateaus and serrated peaks of the Maloti and Drakensberg ranges, where snow falls in winter and Basotho herders ride sure-footed ponies wrapped in their signature blankets. Its greatest natural resource is water: vast highland dams capture rainfall and sell it to thirsty South African cities, while diamonds from high-altitude mines add to a small, export-dependent economy.
Every inch of Lesotho lies in the highlands, and the lowest point - around 1,400 meters - is the highest national low point on earth. The eastern highlands rise to Thabana Ntlenyana at 3,482 meters, the loftiest summit in southern Africa, while the western lowlands, narrow and relatively gentle, hold most of the population and farmland. The Senqu, known downstream as the Orange River, rises here and flows west toward the Atlantic. Bitterly cold winters, summer thunderstorms, and erosion-prone slopes shape a demanding environment for the maize and livestock farming that sustains rural life.
The Basotho nation was forged in the early nineteenth century by King Moshoeshoe I, who consolidated refugees on the defensible mountain stronghold of Thaba Bosiu during the upheavals of the Mfecane. Seeking protection from Boer expansion, the kingdom became the British territory of Basutoland and gained independence in 1966 as Lesotho. Sesotho and English are the official languages of a strikingly homogeneous society. The economy leans heavily on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, remittances from migrant workers in South Africa, and a textile industry that exports to global brands.