Bloemhof Dam
Encyclopedia
Bloemhof Dam, was originally known as the Oppermansdrif Dam when under construction during the late 60's. Situated in the Vaal River
, on the border between the North West, and Free State
, provinces of South Africa
. The dam wall is very long with a total length of 4 270m. The reservoir is very shallow, and therefore needs a large area to mean anything for water storage. The area around the reservoir (dam), has been a protected area, but because it lies on the border between provinces, these became two separate nature reserves. On the North West Province side lies the Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve, on the Free State side is the Sandveld Nature Reserve
.
The town called Bloemhof
lies on the North West side of the Vaal River
.
The dam was commissioned in 1970, has a capacity of 1269000000 cubic metres (44,814,311,423.9 cu ft), and an area of 223 square kilometres (86.1 sq mi), the wall is 33 metres (108.3 ft) high. It is fed with the outflow from the Vaal dam (located upstream near Heidelberg) as well as rain collected in the Vaal-, Vet-, Vals- and Sandriver catchment areas.
Vaal River
The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
, on the border between the North West, and Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
, provinces of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The dam wall is very long with a total length of 4 270m. The reservoir is very shallow, and therefore needs a large area to mean anything for water storage. The area around the reservoir (dam), has been a protected area, but because it lies on the border between provinces, these became two separate nature reserves. On the North West Province side lies the Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve, on the Free State side is the Sandveld Nature Reserve
Sandveld Nature Reserve
Sandveld Nature Reserve is a protected area in South Africa.It lies on the Free State side of the Bloemhof Dam. Bloemhof Dam Lies where the Vaal River and the Vet River meet on the border between the Free State and North West provinces...
.
The town called Bloemhof
Bloemhof, North West
Bloemhof is an agricultural town with 14,972 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Vaal River in North West Province of South Africa.It was founded in 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area. The town was established on the farm owned by John Barclay, who survived the HMS Birkenhead...
lies on the North West side of the Vaal River
Vaal River
The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
.
The dam was commissioned in 1970, has a capacity of 1269000000 cubic metres (44,814,311,423.9 cu ft), and an area of 223 square kilometres (86.1 sq mi), the wall is 33 metres (108.3 ft) high. It is fed with the outflow from the Vaal dam (located upstream near Heidelberg) as well as rain collected in the Vaal-, Vet-, Vals- and Sandriver catchment areas.