Gariep Dam (town)

Gariep Dam Gariepdam
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Coordinates: 30°36′S25°30′E / 30.6°S 25.5°E / -30.6; 25.5
Country	South Africa
Province	Free State
Municipality	Kopanong
Established	~1964
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	Xolile Mathwa (ANC)
Elevation	1,320 m (4,330 ft)
Population  (2011) [1]
• Total	1,568
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
•  Coloured	47.6%
•  Indian/Asian	0.4%
•  White	19.6%
• Other	1.3%
First languages (2011) [2]
•  Afrikaans	76.9%
•  Xhosa	11.1%
•  English	4.9%
•  Sotho	4.6%
• Other	2.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	9922

Gariep Dam (Afrikaans : Gariepdam), founded as "Oranjekrag", is a settlement in Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State (province) of South Africa.

Gariep Dam is a town on the northern bank of the Orange River, 50 km west of Bethulie and 48 km north-east of Colesberg. It was laid out in 1965-66 to accommodate the builders of the dam. The previous name is Afrikaans and means "Orange (River) power". ^[3] The town acquired its current name in 1996. ^[4]

References

3. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 352.
4. Elwyn Jenkins (1 January 2007). Falling Into Place: The Story of Modern South African Place Names. New Africa Books. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-86486-689-9.