Hillside Dams

Last updated

Hillside Dams also called Hillside Dams Conservancy is a national monument of Zimbabwe located in the city of Bulawayo.

Contents

Hillside Dams Conservancy
Hillside Dams, Conservancy
LocationHillside, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Nearest cityBulawayo
AreaHillside, Bulawayo
Established1924
Governing bodyNational Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe
Website https://www.hillsidedams.com

History

The Hillside Dams area history dates back to the Stone Age as there were various Stone Age tools and rock shelters discovered within the area. In the 19th century it was one of King Lobengula's favourite villages to relax at. In 1895 Rhodesian workers started constructing infrastructure for commercial water supply. It was then that the name Hillside Dams was adopted after completion of the structures in 1898. Unfortunately the structure collapsed. [1]

In 1924 the Hillside Dams were sold to Bulawayo City Council, and the dams for water supply were changed. Thereafter the area became a low density residential suburb known as Hillside. In 1942 Hillside Dams was designated as a National Monument. [2]

Features

Flora

The woodland vegetation of Hillside Dams is mainly dominated by Terminalia , Acacia , Burkea , Sclerocarya and Peltophorum . The trees are labelled by numbers and you can refer somewhere to the meanings of the numbers. There is also an Aloe Garden with different types of Aloe vera . [1]

Fauna

Hillside Dams is a proclaimed bird sanctuary, but has few mammals. [1]

Geology

The dominant rock in the area is Syenite. There are a lot of kopjes and scattered rock boulders. [1]

Recreational Activities

Related Research Articles

Harare Capital of Zimbabwe

Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km2 (371 mi2) and a population 2,123,132 in the 2012 census and an estimated 3,120,917 in its metropolitan area in 2019. Situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.

Great Zimbabwe ruins of a historical city in Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is an ancient city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom, although which kingdom is not certain, during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the city began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 15th century. The edifices are believed to have been erected by the ancestral Shona. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometres which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people. It is recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Bulawayo City and Province in Zimbabwe

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2012 census listed it at 653,337, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about 1.2 million. Bulawayo covers an area of about 1,707 square kilometres in the western part of the country, along the Matsheumhlope River. Along with the capital Harare, Bulawayo is one of two cities in Zimbabwe that is also a province.

St. Francis Dam Former dam in Los Angeles County, California, US

The St. Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity dam, built to create a large regulating and storage reservoir for the city of Los Angeles, California. The reservoir was an integral part of the city's Los Angeles Aqueduct water supply infrastructure. It was located in San Francisquito Canyon of the Sierra Pelona Mountains, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of the present day city of Santa Clarita.

Masvingo City in Zimbabwe

Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name. Masvingo is close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, the Kyle dam and the Kyle National Reserve where there are many different animal species. It is mostly populated by the Karanga people who form the biggest branch of the various Shona tribes in Zimbabwe.

Kariba, Zimbabwe Place in Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe

Kariba is a town in Mashonaland West province, Zimbabwe, located close to the Kariba Dam at the north-eastern end of Lake Kariba, near the Zambian border. According to the 2012 Population Census, the town had a population of 26,451.

Hwange National Park

Hwange National Park is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls and near to Dete.

Nyanga National Park

Nyanga National Park lies in the north of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. One of the first national parks to be declared in the country, it contains the highest land in Zimbabwe, with green hills and perennial rivers. Most of its terrain consists of rolling downland, sometimes lightly wooded, lying at altitudes between 1,800–2,593 metres. Mount Nyangani, the highest point in Zimbabwe, lies in the centre of the park and Mutarazi Falls, Zimbabwe's highest waterfall, is in the south of the park. Nyanga National park incorporates the former Mutarazi Falls National Park on its southern boundary.

Matobo National Park

The Matobo National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The hills were formed over 2 billion years ago with granite being forced to the surface, this has eroded to produce smooth "whaleback dwalas" and broken kopjes, strewn with boulders and interspersed with thickets of vegetation. Matopo/Matobo is a corruption of a shona/Venda word, "matombo" which means stones in Tshivenda/chishona. It was named by the ancestors of Kalanga, Venda and shona people who are the original natives of the land. A different tradition states that the first King, Mzilikazi Khumalo when told by the local residents that the grate granite domes were called madombo he replied, possible half jest, "We will call them matobo" - an IsiNdebele play on 'Bald heads'.

Khami

Khami is a ruined city located 22 kilometres west of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kalanga Kingdom of Butwa of the Torwa dynasty. It is now a national monument, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Lupane District

Lupane ( luːpɑːnɛ) District is located in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe, and it is also the Provincial Capital. The District is situated at an elevation of 976 m with a population of 198,600 inhabitants by 2019. Lupane Town is the main center of the district located 172 km from Bulawayo along the A8 Victoria Falls Road. The Government Provincial Administrative offices are located at the Town Centre. A new university near the Town has been established under the name Lupane State University, which caters for the region and beyond. The word Lupane is thought to be a Kalanga or Lozwi word.

Mzingwane River

The Mzingwane River, formerly known Umzingwane River as or Umzingwani River is a major left-bank tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe. It rises near Fort Usher, Matobo District, south of Bulawayo and flows into the Limpopo River near Beitbridge, downstream of the mouth of the Shashe River and upstream of the mouth of the Bubye River.

Insiza River

The Insiza River is the principal tributary of the Mzingwane River in Zimbabwe.

Thuli River

The Thuli River, former name Tuli River, is a major tributary of the Shashe River in Zimbabwe. It rises near Matopo Mission, Matobo District, and flows into the Shashe River near Tuli village.

Zhovhe Dam is a reservoir on the Mzingwane River, Zimbabwe with a capacity of 133 million cubic metres. It supplies water for commercial irrigation and the town of Beitbridge.

Bubye River

The Bubye River, also known as Bubi River, is a tributary of the Limpopo River in Beitbridge District and Gwanda District, Zimbabwe. It rises about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the northeast of West Nicholson in Matabeleland South, from where it flows southeast before joining the Limpopo about 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the border with Mozambique. Its course forms part of the border between Mberengwa and Mwenezi districts.

Sebakwe River

Sebakwe River or Zibagwe River is a river in Zimbabwe.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is a corporation jointly and equally owned by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Thimlich Ohinga National Monument of Kenya

Thimlich Ohinga is a complex of stone-built ruins in Migori county, Nyanza Kenya, in East Africa. It is the largest one of 138 sites containing 521 stone structures that were built around the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. These sites are highly clustered. The main enclosure of Thimlich Ohinga has walls that vary from 1 to 3 meters in thickness, and 1 to 4.2 meters in height. The structures were built from undressed blocks, rocks, and stones set in place without mortar. The densely packed stones interlock. The site is believed to be more than 550 years old.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Hillside Dams | History". www.hillsidedams.com. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  2. "National Monuments of Zimbabwe | National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe". www.nmmz.co.zw. Retrieved 2019-04-30.