| GOURITZ RIVER: Overview |
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eWISA Home | GOURITZ: MAIN INDEX | ALPHABETICAL LIST OF RIVERS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gouritz Water Management Area comprises the Goukou and Duiwenhoks, Gouritz and Garden Route rivers. (Ref 2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gouritz River is the main river within the area. It originates in the Great Karoo and enters the Indian Ocean at Gouritzmond. Major tributaries of the Gouritz River are the Groot, Gamka and Olifants rivers. The Goukou and Duiwenhoks rivers are small rivers draining the Langeberg Mountains and flow over the coastal plains, west of Mossel Bay. The main rivers of the Garden Route, east of the Gouritz River, are the Hartenbos, Klein Brak, Groot Brak, Knysna, Bietou, Keurbooms, Groot and Bloukrans. (Ref 2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gouritz River is one of the major rivers along the South Coast. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The mouth of the Gourtiz River mouth is approximately 330 km east of Cape Town and 30 km west of Mossel bay. The river is approximately 416 km long and the catchment area is approximately 45715 sq.km. (Ref 1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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About 20 km north of the mouth the river flows through a deep gorge and the historic road bridge is at present famous for bungy jumping (illustrated on the GoogleEarth image - 3rd image). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The origin of the Gouritz River is in the Groot Swartberge, however important tributaries such as the Dwyka and Buffels Rivers drain the southern slopes of the Roggeveld mountains in the "Moordenaarskaroo" and the Olifants River the area at Oudthoorn between the Groot Swartberge and the Kammanassieberge. It was during a flood of the Buffels River when more than 100 people drowned in Laiingsburg in 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Klein- and Groot Swartberge is part of the Cape Folded Mountains. The Swartberg Pass and Meiringspoort are important land marks of te area. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gourits River is formed by the confluence of the Gamka and Olifants rivers just south of Calitzdorp. It enters the Indian Ocean between Bull Point and Kanonpunt about 33 km south-west of Mossel Bay. There is a small settlement 2 km west of the river called Gouritsmond. A few kilometres to the east are the small holiday resorts of Kanon, Fransmanshoek and Vleesbaai. (Ref 3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The mouth of the Gourits River is about 27km south of the N2 highway between Albertinia and Mossel Bay. (Ref 3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gouritz Water Management Area (WMA) is situated along the southern coast of South Africa and extends inland across the Little Karoo and into the Great Karoo. The area covers about 53 140 km2 and includes the Gouritz River catchment, as well as the catchments of the smaller coastal rivers that lie to the east and west of the Gouritz River mouth. The area is divided into three sub-areas for the purpose of this report, viz. Goukou/Duiwenhoks, Gouritz and the Garden Route. (Ref4) |
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Much of the area consists of the Gouritz River catchment with its main tributaries, viz. Groot, Gamka and Olifants rivers and secondary tributaries, viz. Touws, Buffels and Kammanassie rivers. The shorter Duiwenhoks and Goukou rivers drain the coastal belt, west of the Gouritz River, while the Garden Route consists of several smaller rivers, including the Knysna and Keurbooms rivers. The catchments of the coastal belt also contain a number of important coastal lakes and wetlands. (Ref4) |
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| References | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ref1. South African Estuaries. Catchment
land-cover. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. http://www.environment.gov.za/soer/estuary/tables.html
Ref3: ESTUARIES OF THE CAPE REPORT NO. 38 Gourits (CSW 25) |
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