The Free State is situated on a succession of flat grassy plains sprinkled with pastureland, resting on a general elevation of 3,800 feet only broken by the occasional hill or kopje.

The flats in the south of the reserve provide ideal conditions for large herds of plain game such as black wildebeest and springbok.

The ridges, koppies and plains typical of the northern section are home to kudu, red hartebeest, southern white rhinoceros and buffalo.

The Southern African wildcat, black wildebeest, zebra, eland, white rhinoceros and wild dog can be seen at the Soetdoring Nature Reserve near Bloemfontein.

The South African cheetahs were reintroduced in the Free State for the first time in June 2013 after a hundred years of regional extinction, at Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis.

[7] The Free State experiences a continental climate, characterised by warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters.

Areas in the east experience frequent snowfalls, especially on the higher ranges, whilst the west can be extremely hot in summer.

[10] The provincial legislature is elected every five years by a system of party-list proportional representation and meets at the Vierde Raadsaal in Bloemfontein.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) retained its position as the province's second largest party and official opposition, with a significant increase in its share of the vote.

The province is the granary of South Africa, with agriculture central to its economy, while mining on the rich goldfields reef is its largest employer.

It is also South Africa's leader in the production of biofuels, or fuel from agricultural crops, with a number of ethanol plants under construction in the grain-producing western region.

Soya, sorghum, sunflowers and wheat are cultivated in the eastern Free State, where farmers specialise in seed production.

Gold mines in the Free State also supply a substantial portion of the total silver produced in the country, while considerable concentrations of uranium occurring in the gold-bearing conglomerates of the goldfields are extracted as a byproduct.

The Free State also produces high-quality diamonds from its kimberlite pipes and fissures, and the country's largest deposit of bentonite is found in the Koppies district.

Petrochemicals company Sasol, based in the town of Sasolburg, is a world leader in the production of fuels, waxes, chemicals and low-cost feedstock from coal.

In the northeastern Free State, nestled in the rolling foothills of the Maluti mountains, the Golden Gate Highlands National Park is the province's prime tourist attraction.

The sandstone of this region has been used for the lovely dressed-stone buildings found on the Eastern Highlands, while decoratively painted Sotho houses dot the grasslands.

Some of South Africa's most valued San (Bushman) rock art is found in the Free State, particularly in the regions around Clarens, Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener.