Grassridge Dam

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Grassridge Dam
Official name Grassridge Dam
Country South Africa
Location Hofmeyr, Eastern Cape
Coordinates 31°45′30″S25°28′1″E / 31.75833°S 25.46694°E / -31.75833; 25.46694 Coordinates: 31°45′30″S25°28′1″E / 31.75833°S 25.46694°E / -31.75833; 25.46694
Purpose Irrigation
Construction began 1923
Opening date 1924 (renovated 1948)
Owner(s) Department of Water Affairs
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Earth fill dam
Impounds Great Brak River
Height 30 m
Length 594 m
Reservoir
Creates Grassridge Dam Reservoir
Total capacity 46 200 000 m³
Surface area 1384 ha

The Grassridge Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on a tributary of the Great Fish River called the Great Brak River, near Hofmeyr, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is the starting point for the Fish River Canoe Marathon , which ends in Cradock. The Dam was constructed in 1923 (commissioned in 1924) and has been renovated in 1948. Its main purpose is for irrigation use and the hazard potential has been ranked high (3).

Hofmeyr Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population of Hofmeyr proper is about 326 persons and the neighbouring township of Luxolweni is about 3354. In former times it lay at the centre of a flourishing sheep-farming district and managed some salt pans 10 km to its west.

Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. It is the landing place and home of the 1820 Settlers. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the Xhosa people.

South Africa Republic in the southernmost part of Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (White), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.

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