Lephalale (river)

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Lephalale
Lepalala, Palala River
The Lephalale in the Limpopo catchment area (center left)

The Lephalale in the Limpopo catchment area (center left)

Data
location South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa
( Limpopo Province )
River system Limpopo
Drain over Limpopo  → Indian Ocean
source Waterberg massif , South Africa , border with Botswana
muzzle Limpopo coordinates: 23 ° 5 '2 "  S , 27 ° 53' 40"  E 23 ° 5 '2 "  S , 27 ° 53' 40"  E

Catchment area 4868 km²
A ravine of the Lephalale at the level of the Lapalala Wilderness on Waterberg

A ravine of the Lephalale at the level of the Lapalala Wilderness on Waterberg

The Lephalale (also: Palala (River) ) is a river in South Africa . It rises in the border area with Botswana and belongs to the catchment area of Limpopo . It forms an important waterway for the Waterberg region and parts of the Limpopo province . A large part of the nature reserve Lapalala Wilderness , which has predominantly dry forest vegetation, is drained through it. The river forms an important habitat for a large number of mammals, such as blue wildebeest , giraffes , pythons , hippos , crocodiles , white rhinos and other horned rhinos , and covers its own catchment area of ​​4868 km².

The Lephalale has very clear water and a demonstrably high water quality , which is especially true for its upper reaches. The health status of the sensitive North African predatory catfish ( Burchell ) living in it is considered a representative biomarker . Untouched wilderness areas lie along the middle reaches. In the lower reaches of the Lephalale, dominant alluvial soils and small weirs support the irrigation of the surrounding landscape.

geology

The geological structure of the Lephalale catchment area is quite variable and complex. There are porous as well as solidified horizons of sedimentary layers made of quartzitic sandstones and rockites , which are of magmatic or metamorphic origin and include rockic minerals . They belong to the Waterberg and Soutpansberg groups . They are overlaid by acidic and basic plutonites of the Bushveld complex due to intrusive activities. Downstream, the Lephalale catchment area is underlain by carbon-rich claystones , slates and basalts of the Karoo sequence . Large areas in the central part of the lower reaches of the river are covered by sandy Quaternary sediment material.

Prehistoric rock carvings

Prehistoric rock carvings can be found on various cliffs that line the river . These legacies of the San date back to around 8000 BC. BC back. The works show hunting scenes for various game, especially antelopes. The drawings can be found on the vertically rising rock walls, whereby many particularly magnificent specimens are protected by mighty mountain overhangs . The colors chosen proved to be remarkably resistant to weathering for thousands of years.

The rock paintings are very difficult to access as there are no roads leading to them, local markings are often missing and there are no indications on landscape maps. Sometimes very swampy terrain makes access difficult.

Waterberg massif

Much of the river runs through the Waterberg massif, a rock formation of approximately 15,000 square kilometers. The massif was the first region in the northern part of the Republic of South Africa to be designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO . The foundation is the Kaapvaal Craton , one in Archean incurred, stable crustal block, the formation of up to 2.7 billion years going back. Minerals intruded into this block to form the Bushveld Complex. For hundreds of millions of years, the river shaped the landscape through erosive processes, with characteristic table mountains and island mountains as well as hardened rocks . The ecosystem can be characterized as dry forest or bushveld .

Stone tools have been found in the Waterberg Massif that prove settlement during the Stone Age . In addition, early evidence of the origin of humans can be read off.

climate

The average annual temperature is between 16 and 22 ° C. The average maximum temperature in January is 30 ° C, while the minimum monthly average temperature is 4 ° C in July.

Precipitation increases from north to south.

economy

The largest dry- cooled coal-fired power station in the world (6 × 800 MW), the Matimba Power Station, is located on the Lephalale in the village of the same name . The Medupi Power Station is partially in operation and should have a total capacity of up to 4500 megawatts.

Mainly mined raw materials in the region are lead ( Dorset ) and phosphates ( Abbot's Poort ).

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lephalala Sub-basin ( Memento of the original from January 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.limpoporak.com
  2. ^ Water resources Lephalala
  3. Jump up ↑ Maxwell Barson, Endoparasites of the sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), from the Rietvlei Dam, Sesmyl Spruit system, South Africa., Masters thesis, University of Johannesburg (2004)
  4. ^ A b c Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa. 2004. Internal Strategic Perspective: Limpopo Water Management Area: Prepared by Goba Moahloli Keeve Steyn (Pty) Ltd, in association with Tlou & Matji (Pty) Ltd and Golder Associates (Pty) Ltd. on behalf of the Directorate: National Water Resource Planning. Report No. P WMA 01/000/00/0304
  5. ↑ RIVERS IN SOUTH AFRICA ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ewisa.co.za
  6. ↑ a b MMSD southern Africa Research Topic 4: Impacts of Mining and Minerals Processing on the Biophysical Environment in Southern Africa
  7. ↑ Lumina Technologies Selected Abstracts in Archeology / History ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.luminatechnologies.org
  8. ↑ C. Michael Hogan, Mark Cooke and Helen Murray, The Waterberg Massif, Limpopo Province, South Africa , May 11, 2006 ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.luminatechnologies.org
  9. ↑ Expert opinion on platinum mining in the Waterberg area ( Memento of the original dated February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English, PDF), accessed on February 1, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sahra.org.za
  10. ↑ RIVERS IN SOUTH AFRICA ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ewisa.co.za

literature

  • Tracey Hawthorne, Common Birds of South Africa, Struik Publishing, South Africa (1998) ISBN 1-86872-120-5
  • Eugene Marais, Soul of the Ape, Human and Rousseau (1937)
  • The Encyclopedic History of the Transvaal, Praagh and Lloyd, Johannesburg (1906)
  • William Taylor, Gerald Hinde and David Holt-Biddle, The Waterberg, Struik Publishers, Capetown, South Africa (2003) ISBN 1-86872-8226