NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lowveld

The term Veld, or Veldt, refers primarily (but not exclusively) to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub. The word comes from the Afrikaans and Dutch languages, and is also found in some dialects of Low German and means, literally, 'field'. However, this simple translation does not convey the subtleties of the many idiomatic nuances of the term. Veld can be compared to the Australian terms "outback" or "bush," to "the prairie" of North America, or to the "pampas" of South America but the comparisons are not exact. A Yorkshireman might equate "wandering across the moors" to "walking through the veld." The term 'veld', in Low German usage, is used to mean a place which is generally overgrown or has gone fallow, such as a thicket or a field which has become overgrown from lack of maintenance. It also generally has similar connotations as in Afrikaans and Dutch. A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 22 million people, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. ... Low German (also called Plattdeutsch, PlattdÃ¼Ã¼tsch or Low Saxon) is a name for the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch (Low German), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch (Low Saxon). Low refers... A tourism sign post Yalgoo, Western Australia The MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory are found in the centre of the country. ... Low German (also called Plattdeutsch, PlattdÃ¼Ã¼tsch or Low Saxon) is a name for the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch (Low German), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch (Low Saxon). Low refers... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ...

By extension, the veld can be compared to 'the boondocks' or those places 'beyond the black stump' in Australia. There is a sense in which it refers in essence to unimproved land (and is therefore not the equivalent of the English "paddock") but in other senses the veld can include areas used both for pastoral activities and the planting of crops. The word is less appropriate for land that is heavily forested, mountainous, or urban. (On the other hand, a carefully-husbanded sports field on which the game of Rugby is played in the middle of cities such as Cape Town or Johannesburg is referred to as a "rugbyveld.") Whereas mountainous peaks and forests are not really welcome on the veld, bushes are acceptable. The area then becomes "bosveld." There are minor examples of bosveld here and there but the term is used mainly to describe Die Bosveld ("The Bushveld"), which is both a loose botanical classification and a specific geographical part of what used to be know as The Transvaal (for example, Jock of the Bushveld). Flag of Transvaal For the Russian theme park, see Transvaal Park. ... Jock of the Bushveld is a true story by South African author Sir Percy FitzPatrick. ...

The word "veld" also carries military connotations. The word "field" in English has a strong association with "war," as evidenced by the expression "the first foe in the field" and the lines of the ballad Lord Marlborough: "You generals all and champions bold, that takes delight in field, that knocks down churches and castle walls but now to death must yield". The same relationship is paralleled in Afrikaans. Just as the English Army has its Field Marshalls, the Boer armies had their Veldkornets and Veldkommandos.

Highveld and Lowveld

Much of the interior of southern Africa consists of a high plateau known as the Highveld. These higher, cooler areas (generally more than 5000 ft [1524m] above sea level) are characterized by flat or gently undulating terrain, grasslands and a modified tropical or subtropical climate. In some areas there is a distinct escarpment bordering the plateau, while in others the boundary is not obvious.

Some surrounding, lower areas are known as lowveld and are generally hotter and less intensively cultivated. Before the middle of the 20th century much of the Lowveld was home to the Tse Tse Fly, which transmits Sleeping Sickness. These areas used to be known as "fever country" and were avoided by mounted travellers, owing to the susceptibility of horses to a form of the disease. Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in people and in animals. ...

Alternative meanings

Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American literary, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer best known for The Martian Chronicles, a 1950 book which has been described both as a short story collection and a novel, and his 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. ... Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII is a Japanese action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2004. ...

See also

Category: Plains Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... In geography, a coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. ... Coastal prairie may refer to either: The California coastal prairie, a plant community found along the coasts of California and Oregon The Western Gulf coastal grasslands of Louisiana, Texas, and Tamaulipas This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... A green field or paddock In agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as: Cultivating crops Usage as a paddock or generally an enclosure of livestock Land left to lie fallow or as arable land See also Pasture... Flooded grasslands and savannas are a biome, generally located at subtropical and tropical latitudes, where flooding is very frequent. ... A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding. ... Grasslands are very generally open and continuous, fairly flat area of grass. ... A meadow is a habitat of rolling or flat terrain where grasses predominate. ... A tourism sign post Yalgoo, Western Australia The MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory are found in the centre of the country. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... In geography, a plain is a large area of land with relatively low relief. ... Prairie refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few trees, and having generally a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... Rangeland refers to a large, mostly unimproved section of land that is predominantly used for livestock grazing. ... Savanna at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... A water-meadow (or watermeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to controlled seasonal flooding. ... A wet meadow is a semi-wetland meadow which is saturated with water throughout much of the year. ...