What is Dams?
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams.
Top Dams In South Africa
Below are some of the Top Dams.
1. Gariep Dam
- Size: 88 m (height), 914 m (length), 374 km2 (surface area)
- Water Volume: 5,340,000 ml
- Inlets: Orange, Caledon, Sterkspruit, Broekspruit, Barkspruit, Palmietspruit, and Oude Spruit
- Mostly Used for: Recreation Sports, Electricity Generation, 4×4 trails, Boat Cruising, Canoeing, Touring, Motor Boating, and MTB trails.
2. Heyshope Dam
- Size: 28.5 m (height), 1030 (length), 5 023.8 ha (surface area)
- Water Volume: 4,534,400 ml
- Inlets: Assegai River
- Mostly Used for Fishing, Forestry
3. Vanderkloof Dam
- Size: 108 m (height), 766 m (length), 133.402 km2 (surface area)
- Water Volume: 3 187 557 ml
- Inlets: Gariep Reservoir
- Mostly Used for: Hydroelectricity, Fishing
4. Sterkfontein Dam
- Size: 93 m (height), 18.8 m (length), 69.37 km² (surface area)
- Water Volume: 2,616,000 ml
- Inlets: Tugela River
- Mostly Used for: As a Water Reservoir
5. Vaal Dam
- Size: 322 km² (area), 800 km (length)
- Water Volume: 2,613,500 ml
- Inlets: Vaal River, Wilge River, Klip River, Grootspuit River, Molspuit River and Sterkfontein
- Mostly Used for Water Sports, Fishing, Recreation
What’s the biggest dam in South Africa?
The Gariep Dam, in the Free State, is the dam with the largest storage capacity ever built in South Africa. Constructed in 1972, it stores water from the Orange River in a 100 km-long dam with a surface area of 374 km2. The dam can store about 5 500 million cubic metres (m3) of water.
Which dam is the most beautiful in South Africa?
Apart from serving an important function – supplying water to parts of the Vaal, Fish and Sunday catchments, and irrigation along the Orange River itself – the Gariep Dam also lies in one of the most beautiful gorges at the entrance to the Ruigte Valley.
Who owns dams in South Africa?
The department does own the largest dams in South Africa, however. South African municipalities own a further 321 dams, with the remainder of the dams being owned by other government departments and water boards.