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Location |
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Polokwane is located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa along routes N1, R37, R71, R81, R521 and R567. |
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History |
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In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town 100 km to the North West. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes. They founded a new town in 1886 and named it Pietersburg in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British built a concentration camp here during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on April 23, 1992; on February 25, 2005, the government of Limpopo changed the name of the city to "Polokwane". The city is now the major urban centre and capital city of the province, and indeed for the entire country north of Gauteng. |
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Climate |
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Despite its position on the tropic of Capricorn, the climate is tempered by its position on a plateau 1230 meters above sea level. Average temperatures reach around 21-22°C in January and fall to 11°C in July. As with much of inland South Africa, Pietersburg has experienced notably warmer seasons over the last decade than its long term average. Pietersburg has a dry climate with a summer rainy season and a pronounced dry spell during winter. Average annual rainfall is 495mm, with December or (less often) January the wettest month and July the driest. |
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