The sites in the swartkops river estuary are l at mouth of the estuary. Surface water and groundwater quality in south africa and. The orange river, south africa s major river, rises in the drakensberg mountains in lesotho, where it is known as the senqu. South africa is a signatory to the convention on biological diversity cbd. South africa, the southernmost country on the african continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favored destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid afrikaans. Manilal gandhi 1892 1956, son of mahatma gandhi, addresses a gathering of 6,000 transvaal indians in south africa, 20th july 1939.
It is quite common to find the afrikaans word rivier as part. The pollution of rivers, lakes, and aquifers from domestic and industrial wastewater discharges, mining runoff, agrochemicals and other sources is now a growing threat to water resources in most countries in south africa. It does not reach the ocean as it is a tributary and joins the orange river in the northern cape at douglas. Longest rivers in south africa most of the orange rivers 1,367 miles flow through south africa, with smaller stretches reaching into lesotho and namibia. The orange river eventually flows into the atlantic ocean. Jeremy shelton is the founder of living labs and a scientist at the freshwater research centre of the university of cape town. South africas coastal areas are drained by a number of smaller rivers, while mountains to the south and the escarpment sends water from the interior on a far longer journey to the ocean. Effects of human activities on the waterval river, vaal. Water quality problems and management in rural areas of. South africa s kalahari desert is part of a huge sand basin that reaches from the orange river up to angola, in the west to namibia and east to zimbabwe. Another common suffix is kamma, from the khoisan term for river. Msagati 3 1 department of hydrology and water resources, university of venda, private bag x5050, thohoyandou 0950, south africa. Jeremy is an expert in the ecology of freshwater fish, the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem and the effects of. It is quite common to find the afrikaans word rivier.
Physical map of africa with rivers, mountains and deserts. Rand waters chemical water quality data from 1991 to 2000 were used to assess the water quality of the waterval river, which contributes about 111 x 10 6m 3 of water to the vaal river annually. Eight per cent of south africa s land area produces 50% of our surface water. The south african scoring system sass version 5 rapid. South africa history, capital, flag, map, population. The abolishment of apartheid opened doors to its full participation in global markets. Supported by my department, the south african environmental observation network saeon emerged from that tradition to establish six strategic. Yet, when she posted the image online, it proved hugely popular.
List of rivers of south africa simple english wikipedia. South africas inland water resources are the rivers, dams, lakes, wetlands, and subsurface aquifers, which together with natural processes such as rainfall and. British south africa company british company britannica. The white paper on the conservation and sustainable use of south africa s biological diversity july 1997 is guided by the main aims of the convention, namely conservation of biodiversity. The vaal river is the second largest river in south africa, the largest being the orange river. Map of south africa showing the location of the swartkops and gamtoos river estuaries and the various sampling sites.
All the freshwater fish that occur in south african inland waters. The chemicals industry in south africa built upon the nations abundant coal reserves, south africa s chemicals industry spent much of the 20th century isolated from world trade. Water pollution is a major threat to south africa averda. These indicate what is known about the ecology of south african rivers, what options are available for monitoring and exploitation of. Many south african rural dwellers use untreated water domestically. Ecological impacts of small dams on south african rivers part 1. An introduction to south africas water source areas. Pdf ecological impacts of small dams on south african. South africa can also be proud of its strong tradition of exploiting scientific knowledge to support effective policy and practice in sustainable development. Blyde river canyon in mpumalanga, south africa the blyde river similar images. It is also the longest river in the world with its length put at 6,650 km 4,2mi.
This is the case of long rivers in rsa and mz which cross urbanized areas and then. Phosphate levels in south african fresh water have risen steadily with time, but recently. A total of 60% of the river basins in south africa include flow to or from another country. Today, european scientists join forces with their african colleagues in search of answers on the role played by african rivers in the global climate, says euronews science producer denis loctier. Find information on rivers in south africa as well as 77 rivers in africa, 5327 rivers in the world. If we can protect this 8% we will go a long way to ensuring a water secure future for south africa. Put another way, more than 60% of south africa s rivers are currently being overexploited.
The orange river passes through an arid gorge in northern cape province near south africas borders with namibia and botswana. Not only is this our first south african map, but the essential south africa is also our first guidemap. How we sang about the seven major rivers of africa in. Palmiet river, western cape in south africa rainfall is largely erratic and thus floodplains and other wetlands can change from lentic to lotic and vice versa or, in some instances, can dry up until the next good rains arrive. The zulu word amanzi also forms part of some river names. Photograph your local culture, help wikipedia and win. The rise and fall of dissolved phosphate in south african rivers. A case study of mvudi river, south africa joshua n.
Water pollution in south africa and its public health impact. The river flows northwards from burundi through rwanda, uganda, south sudan, sudan, ethiopia, and egypt on its way to the mediterranean sea. It is formed by the confluence of the blue nile river, which rises in the highlands of ethiopia, and the white nile river, which. Different species of organisms inhabit these different systems. See below each river s article for its tributaries, drainage areas, etc. South african river ecosystems experience high variability in rainfall and runoff davies et al. The method presented here is a refinement of the highly successful sass south african scoring system method developed by chutter 1994, which forms the backbone of. They are protesting the asiatics transvaal land and trading bill. British south africa company bsac, bsaco, or bsa company, mercantile company based in london that was incorporated in october 1889 under a royal charter at the instigation of cecil rhodes, with the object of acquiring and exercising commercial and administrative rights in south central africa. Effects of human activities on the waterval river, vaal river catchment, south africa.
South africa has an exemplary history in this field, culminating in the refinement of invertebrate and other techniques and their application in a national river health programme. It is quite common to find the afrikaans word rivier as part of the name. Eben if you didnt experience this particular one, youll agree with me that there are lots of pronunciation. Niwis, 146 of south africa s 565 rivers are categorised as having very low flows, while a further 105 are low and another 88 moderately low, as shown in figure 1.
Aquatic ecosystems in south africa include rivers and streams, estuarine systems, marine systems, wetlands, floodplains, lakes and dams and groundwater. Purpose the south african water quality guidelines are used by the department of water affairs and forestry as its primary source of information and decisionsupport to judge the fitness of water for use and for other water quality management purposes. Touristlink members rank great kei river, breede river and letaba river as the top rivers in south africa. Pollution status of two river estuaries in the eastern. The microbial water quality from the chunies river in limpopo province is unacceptable for domestic use throughout the course of the river due to faecal and coliform pollution.
The abundance of informal settlements that have been established along south africa s rivers is a major contributor to this pollution, due to the lack of. Anc supporters pray in front of the johannesburg courthouse on dec. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. It twists and turns westward for some 2,200km 1,367 mi to the. South african freshwater angling fish species list. Grootrivier in natures valley, stained a tea colour by plant tannins. The afrikaans term spruit often labels small rivers. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Drought, overgrazing and the deterioration of the land make the ecosystem vulnerable. Major rivers in africa the four major rivers of africa are the nile 4,160 miles, the congo 2,900 miles, the niger 2,590 miles, and the zambesi 1,700 miles. You can help wikipedia by writing articles to help lower the number of red links. Eutrophication, caused by nutrient loading, is a threat to water quality. Humans can alter the flow characteristics of a river negatively by clearing vegetation, constructing impermeable tar and concrete surfaces, and building on a river.
Assessment of trace metals contamination of surface water. In creating this guidemap we have tried to bring together our experience in mapping as well as our interest and thirst for travel, exploration and adventure. The south african minister of water and sanitation, gugile nkwitini, has revealed that water pollution poses the single biggest threat to the countrys water security and quality. This map of south africas rivers is captivating and now. South africa has one of the most diverse freshwater fisheries in the world and all sorts of fish species inhabit the lakes, dams, weirs, streams, rivers and ponds in south africa.
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