Name of the river
The earliest pre-colonial inhabitants called the river Gariep'.[4] The river was named the Orange River by Colonel Robert Gordon, commander of the Dutch East India Companygarrison at Cape Town, on a trip to the interior in 1779.[4] Gordon named the river in honor ofWilliam V of Orange.[4] A popular but incorrect belief is that the river was named after the supposedly orange color of its water, as opposed to the color its tributary, the Vaal River ( 'vaal' being Afrikaans for pale or grey).[citation needed] Since the end of apartheid, the name "Gariep" has had greater favour in official correspondence in South Africa, although the name "Orange" has greater international recognition.[4] In Lesotho, where the river rises, it is known as the Senqu River.
Renaming the river
The Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee has advertised its intention to consider a name change for that portion of the river that forms the border between the Eastern Capeand the Free State, with suggestions being IGqili or Senqu.[6][7] The advertisement placed in the Aliwal Weekblad newspaper states that the "present name is perceived to have a strong association with the history of colonial subjugation and has therefore no place under the current democratic dispensation."[7]
Economy
As the collection point for the majority of South Africa's water, the Orange River plays a major role in supporting agriculture, industry and mining. To assist in this, two large water schemes have been created, the Orange River Project and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Historically, the river played an important role in the South African diamond rush, with the first diamonds in the country being discovered in alluvial deposits on the Orange. Today, several commercial diamond mines operate along the final stretch of the Orange River and around its mouth. Finally, because of the lack of dangerous animals and high water levels during summer, the river is used for recreational canoeing and rafting. Orange River Rafting has become very popular with many companies using their camps along the river to operate from. The most popular trips are a 4-day and a 6-day river trips that take place either along the gorge below the Augrabies Falls or along the Richtersveld area.
Orange River Project
The Orange River Project (ORP) was one of the largest and most imaginative projects of its kind in South Africa. It was constructed by Hendrik Verwoerd's government at the height of the apartheid era. The ORP was built to utilise the unused water of the Orange River — which, without the Vaal River, represents some 14.1% of the total runoff in South Africa — and in the process, to satisfy an increasing demand for water. The main objectives of the project were:
- to stabilise river flow,
- the generation and transmission of hydro-electric power,
- to provide a reliable water supply for users in the Orange river basin, and
- to give a new lease of life to water-deficient areas in the Eastern Cape such as the Great Fish and Sundays River valleys.
The Gariep Dam near Colesberg, named the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam when built, is the main storage structure within the Orange River. From here the water is supplied in two directions: westward along the Orange River (via hydro-electric power generators) to the Vanderkloof Dam which was previously named the PK le Roux Dam, and southward through the Orange-Fish Tunnel to the Eastern Cape.
Hydro-electricity
Eskom operates hydro-electric power-stations at both theGariep Dam and the Vanderkloof Dam. The hydro-electric power station at the Vanderkloof Dam was the first power-generation station in South Africa situated entirely underground. The towns Oviston and Oranjekragwere established to facilitate the construction and operation of the new infrastructure.
Irrigation
Irrigation in the vast area downstream of the Vanderkloof Dam, which has turned thousands of hectares of arid veld into highly productive agricultural land, was made possible by the construction of the Gariep Dam and the Vanderkloof Dam. Old, established irrigation schemes such as those at Buchuberg, Upington, Kakamas andVioolsdrif have also benefitted because regulation of the flow is now possible. On the Namibian side of the river, Aussenkehr produces grapes with the help of water from the Orange.
In recent years the wine producing areas along the Orange River have grown in importance. Irrigation in the Eastern Cape has also received a tremendous boost, not only from the additional water that is being made available but also owing to improvement in water quality. Without this improvement the citrus farmers along the Lower Sundays River would almost certainly have continued to suffer losses of productivity.
Lesotho Highlands Water Project
Main article: Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project was conceived to supplement the water supply in the Vaal River System. Water is delivered to South Africa by means of the Delivery Tunnel which passes under the Lesotho South Africa border at the Caledon River and then under the Little Caledon River south of Clarens in the Free State and discharges into the Ash Riverabout 30 km further to the north. The scheme became viable when water demands in Gautengreached levels that could no longer be supported economically by alternative schemes such as the Tugela River-Vaal River pumped storage scheme, which utilized the Sterkfontein Dam, located near Harrismith in the Free State.
Alluvial diamonds
In 1867, the first diamond discovered in South Africa, the Eureka Diamond, was found nearHopetown on the Orange River. Two years later, a much larger diamond known as the Star of South Africa was found in the same area, causing a diamond rush. This was soon eclipsed by the diamond rush to mine diamonds directly from kimberlite at Kimberley in 1871, although alluvial diamonds continued to be found in the Orange. Today, several commercial diamond mines operate on the last stretch of the river, as well as the beaches around its mouth. Diamond mines also operate on the middle stretch of the river.
Rafting and canoeing
During the temperate months of March and April, given good rains and the sluices of the dams being open a canoeist (or rafter) can easily travel 30 km per day. The lower reaches of the river are most popular, because of the spectacular topography. Commercial tours are available and these expeditions depart from the border town of Vioolsdrif.
No comments:
Post a Comment