Chapter 840

Upington.

Upington is the second largest city in New Baden Province in southwestern East Africa. It is located on the north bank of the Orange River and is the capital of the former Republic of Grigualand.

In June of this year, the citizens of Upington received good news. According to rumors, a railway was going to be built in Upington.

"A railway is going to be built. Is the news accurate?"

In Upington, truckloads of building materials are constantly being transported from the east. Thanks to the British building the Kimberley Railway, many raw materials for railway construction can be transported from nearby Kimberley.

"Of course, the railway runs from Bulawayo, through Gaborone and Katu, and finally to Upington."

No wonder the citizens of Upington are very interested in railways. As a small border town in East Africa, transportation here is really inconvenient.

Upington itself is located on the southern border and is even further away from the political and economic center of East Africa. This railway construction will greatly enhance Upington's transportation capacity.

The Upington Railway mainly passes through the eastern part of New Baden Province, basically parallel to the Orange River, because the southeastern area of ​​New Baden Province has the best natural conditions and the richest mineral resources in the entire New Baden Province.

In addition to national defense needs, the main function of the construction of the Bua Railway is to transport the mineral resources of New Baden Province.

Most of this railway passes through New Baden Province, with a small part in Matabele Province, and then connects to the central railway line in Bulawayo. It runs northeast and southwest. It is an important project for the development of the Kalahari region in East Africa. .

The Kalahari region, that is, the area with the Kalahari Basin as its core, is considered a separate geographical unit in East Africa.

Of course, the Kalahari region is technically a Southwest African region in East Africa, but the southeastern part of the Kalahari region and the Okavango Delta still have development value, and the natural conditions in Southwest Africa are really poor.

The New Baden Province in East Africa is the northern area of ​​the Orange River and the southeastern part of Botswara in the former Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It can be said that New Baden Province occupies the essence of the former Northern Cape Province of South Africa and the Republic of Botswana.

In its previous life, the Northern Cape Province occupied an important position in South Africa's mineral resources, producing more than 30% of the country's diamonds, more than 70% of the silver, more than 80% of the iron ore, and 9% of the country's iron ore. 10% of the aluminum, almost all of the copper, and a lot of manganese resources.

Of course, the copper mines in North Cape Town are mainly concentrated in the western coastal area, and only a small amount is distributed in New Baden Province in East Africa. However, East Africa is not a copper-deficient country. There are copper mines in many provinces in East Africa, and copper mines in the central region The reserves are world-class. Matabele Province (Zimbabwe), Hohenzollern Province (Zambia), Hesse Province, and Swabia Province (eastern and southern Congo) all have considerable copper reserves.

And this "small amount" distribution is only compared with the North Cape Town area of ​​the Cape Colony, and the number is still very considerable.

Except for the large-scale copper mines and diamonds in the British Cape Colony, the main minerals are distributed in East Africa.

In particular, New Baden Province is rich in iron ore resources, which are necessary for the industrial development of Matabele Province.

The province of New Baden itself is obviously not suitable for industrial development. Except for being located in the border area, the local natural environment is relatively dry and it is located in the south of the Kalahari Desert. The local economy is mainly based on sheep herding and grape planting.

The lack of water resources is fatal to the industrial development of New Baden Province, and the local environmental carrying capacity is extremely poor, which is likely to cause the expansion of the Kalahari Desert or the salinization of the land.

At this point, the situation in the Orange region in the east is much stronger than that in New Baden Province. The annual precipitation can be maintained at at least 500 to 600 millimeters, and it can reach more than 900 millimeters in the east. Kimberley in the west is also It can be kept at about 400 mm.

The precipitation in New Baden Province can only be maintained at about 300 millimeters. If it is slightly worse, it will be no different from the desert area.

Therefore, Upington has become the city with the longest sunshine hours in East Africa, and the quality of local wine is also among the best in the country.

There are two main high-quality Portuguese growing areas in East Africa. One is in the north near North Africa, and the other is the South African Plateau, especially the Upington production area. The quality can completely rival other top grape growing areas in the world. The local area is also an important wine producing area in East Africa.

It is worth mentioning that the capital of the new Baden Province was Gaborone, the former capital of Botswana, while the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa in its previous life was Kimberley, but now Kimberley is only an important city in the Orange region.

Therefore, both Gaborone and Kimberley are at a disadvantage. One has lost the opportunity to be the capital, and the other has lost the opportunity to be the provincial capital.

Upington, on the other hand, was not affected at all. Instead, it was favored by East Africa because of the importance of its geographical location.

Upington is the most livable area in the western section of the Orange River. Further west is Southwest Africa and the western part of the Cape Colony. The climate conditions there are even more severe and unsuitable for human habitation. If the Orange River had not passed through, the area along the If a small amount of irrigation agriculture could be developed on both sides of the river, there would probably be no human presence.

Orangemond in East Africa is located at the mouth of the Orange River. Orangemond, which is close to the sea, is actually completely surrounded by desert. Lanzmond.

To the east and north of Orangemond is a vast desert covering an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, with almost no human habitation. The nearest city to Orangemond is Upington, which is more than 470 kilometers away in a straight line.

Although Upington is the closest to Orangemond, transportation between the two places relies entirely on walking or camel. On the contrary, it is more convenient to take the sea route from Walvis Bay to Orangemond.

This is also the main reason why the British did not attack Southwest Africa during the South African War. It was all desert. If there were too many people, the logistics would drag them to death, and it would not pose any threat to East Africa.

Of course, another important reason is that it is very difficult for the British to go to the northwest region of Cape Town. They have to pass through the desert, Gobi and mountains. To circumvent these areas, they have to cross the Orange River, and there may be encounters on the north bank of the Orange River. To East African border soldiers.

At this time, the strategic value of Upington is reflected. By capturing Upington, you can attack the interior of East Africa along the northeast direction. Unfortunately, the population of the Cape Colony is too small, and East Africa has heavy troops stationed in New Baden Province. Therefore, this military initiative could not be completed.

The current construction of the Bua Railway is to prevent the British from conflicting with East Africa to seize Upington in the future. It can also be used as a military forward position in East Africa to continuously export soldiers and materials from the rear to the front line through the Bua Railway.

Of course, there are many economic considerations for the Bua Railway, especially the rich mineral resources in the east, including iron, manganese, diamonds, copper, aluminum, etc.

Of course, another important reason for building the Bua Railway is the poor navigability of the Orange River. The Orange River goes deep into southern East Africa, but its outlet is in the Atlantic Ocean, and the terrain is undulating, resulting in a large river drop, which is different from that of East Africa. Some rivers are similar. For example, near Upington there was the fifth largest waterfall in the world - Ohrabis Falls.

East Africa has many waterfalls that rank among the best in the world, but these waterfalls also cut off several major rivers in East Africa.

Victoria Falls, also known as King Falls in East Africa, cuts off the Zambezi River. Of course, even without King Falls, Zambezi would not be fully navigable. King Falls is only the largest on the Zambezi River.

The Kisangani Falls on the upper reaches of the Congo River and the Livingston Falls on the lower reaches were relatively well-known in their previous lives, as well as the Tugela River Falls, Owen Falls, etc.

Ernst was numb to this, so it made sense for East Africa to vigorously develop railway transportation. From that perspective, East Africa was the most dependent on railways.