The plateau is highest in the east and slopes gently towards the west and north. It is surrounded by the Great Escarpment, the eastern, highest part of which is called Drakensberg. The southern and western parts of the plateau and the adjacent plain known as the Great Karoo (a semi-arid area) are sparsely populated. In the north, the Great Karoo passes into the even drier Bushmanland, which eventually becomes the Kalahari Desert in the northwest of the country. The central-eastern and highest part of the plateau - the Highveld, is a well-watered area with arable fields and the largest agglomerations (Gauteng).
