Laing Dam

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Laing Dam
Official name Laing Dam
Location Eastern Cape, South Africa
Coordinates 32°57′9″S27°29′2″E / 32.95250°S 27.48389°E / -32.95250; 27.48389 Coordinates: 32°57′9″S27°29′2″E / 32.95250°S 27.48389°E / -32.95250; 27.48389
Opening date 1938 (renovated 1950)
Operator(s) Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Dam and spillways
Type of dam gravity
Impounds Buffalo River
Height 45 m
Length 283 m
Reservoir
Creates Laing Dam Reservoir
Total capacity 19 860 000 m³
Catchment area 913 km2
Surface area 203.8 ha

Laing Dam is a gravity type dam located on the Buffalo River, near East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1938 and has been renovated in 1950. The main purpose of the dam is to serve for irrigation and domestic use and its hazard potential has been ranked high (3).

Buffalo River (Eastern Cape) river in South Africa

The Buffalo River is situated in the city of East London on the East Coast of South Africa. It is to the west of the Nahoon River. It is the only navigable river in South Africa. The town of East London was thus established around it.

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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