Botswana Co-ordinates and altitudeBotswana lies at latitudes 17° and 27°S; and longitude 20° and 30°E. Straddling the Tropic of Capricorn ensures Botswana has a moderate climate of hot wet summers and warm winter days with cold nights.
The country is very flat and ranges in altitude between 750 and 1100 meters above sea level. Neighbours on all sidesBotswana is bordered in the South by South Africa, with many immigration checkpoints linking the two countries. In the West the country is bordered by Namibia, in the East by Zimbabwe and in the North by the Caprivi Strip of Namibia.
The only geological feature of note that forms a part of a border with a neighbouring country is the Linyanti/Chobe River system in the North on the border with Namibia. Why is Botswana where it is?Botswana was left relatively untouched by colonialism, with only a few Afrikaners settling in some areas. After the scramble for Africa in the late 1800’s some of the local chiefs were concerned about the advance of the Germans from the West and the Boers from the South so a delegation was sent to England to ask the Queen for protection.
There was not much for any colonial power at the time in what was considered a desert country but the Queen granted protectorate status for the region and it was named Bechuanaland thus saving it from any colonial takeover.
Bechuanaland is granted independence in 1966 from Britain and became Botswana. | 
