The Gariep Dam in South Africa - Earth.com

The Gariep Dam in South Africa

03-26-2021


The Gariep Dam in South Africa Today’s Video of the Day features the largest dam in South Africa, the Gariep Dam.

The dam is located on the banks of the Orange River near the town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.

The primary purpose of the Gariep Dam is for irrigation, domestic and industrial use, and power generation.

According to ESA, the Orange River is one of the world’s most turbid, and is estimated to deliver around 60 million tons of sediment each year to the western margin of South Africa. 

Much of this sediment is the result of soil erosion, which is an increasing environmental threat to sustainability in southern Africa.

The Gariep Dam Nature Reserve is on the northern shore of Lake Gariep. The reserve is home to Springbok, zebras, black wildebeest, and ostriches. South Africa is a developing country. It has been Known by the World Bank as a newly industrialized country, with the third-largest economy in Africa, and the 35th-largest in the world.  Also there is a wide range of  diversity and has biomes and a unique animal life and agriculture with the hot dry desert climate.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

News coming your way
The biggest news about our planet delivered to you each day