Blyderivierpoort Dam is a gravity-arch dam on the
Blyde River
The Motlatse River ("Permanent River"), Blyde River ( "Glad River"), or Umdhlazi River is a river in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. It has a northwards course in steep-sided valleys and ravines of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg, ...
, in the lower
Blyde River Canyon, near
Hoedspruit
Hoedspruit (Afrikaans for ''Hat Creek'') is a town situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Small Dragon Mountains" range), in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on the railway line from Tzaneen to Kaapmuiden.
History
...
in
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. It also floods the lower reaches of the Blyde's
Ohrigstad River
Ohrigstad River is located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The Ohrigstad River joins the Blyde River at the Blyderivierpoort Dam in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. Like the Blyde, it has its ultimate origin at around 2,000 m altitude to the ...
tributary. The dam was completed in 1974.
The 71 m high dam wall and 22 m deep is situated 3 km from Swadini resort by road.
Purpose
left, 200px, The water body seen from the south
Its fundamental purpose is to provide a stable water supply for irrigators of the Blyde River Irrigation district and to provide additional water for mining and industry at
Phalaborwa
Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa.
Name
The place was called "Phalaborwa" by the S ...
.
Irrigation district
Orchards and croplands were established along the lower Blyde in the latter half of the 20th century, with 23,521
ha devoted to irrigation in 1995.
Resettlement
During 1965, the community that lived at the site of the proposed dam was resettled (with compensation) by the government to nearby towns, including
Buffelshoek,
Acornhoek,
Beverleyshoek and
Bushbuckridge
Bushbuckridge (also known as Mapulaneng) is the main town in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga, South Africa. It grew around a trading store that opened in 1884, and is named after t ...
. Some stone-walled settlements, cultural artifacts, and graves are now submerged under the dam.
See also
*
List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa
The following is a partial list of dams in South Africa. __NOTOC__
In South African English (under influence of Afrikaans), a dam refers to both the wall as well as the reservoir or lake that builds up as a consequence.
List of dams (reservo ...
*
List of rivers of South Africa
This is a list of rivers in South Africa.
It is quite common to find the Afrikaans word ''-rivier'' as part of the name. Another common suffix is "''-kamma''", from the Khoisan term for "river"
Meiring, Barbara"South African Toponymic Guidelin ...
References
List of South African Damsfrom the South African
Department of Water Affairs
The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa.
In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of ...
Dams in South Africa
Dams completed in 1974
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