ABSTRACT
The modern Kingdom of Lesotho inherited its boundaries from the British colony of Basutoland. It has a land area of 11,716 square miles (30,350 sq km), slightly larger than the state of Maryland. It is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, filling in the area between the Cape Province, Orange Free State, and Natal in east-central South Africa, Much of the country is mountainous, with elevations above sea level ranging from 5,000 to over 11,000 feet (1,500 to over 3,300 m). No country in the world has a higher lowest point.
