Hydrogeology of South Africa

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of South Africa

Authors

Brighid Ó Dochartaigh, Kirsty Upton, British Geological Survey, UK

Geographical Setting

File:SouthAfrica Political.png

Map of South Africa (For more information on the datasets used in the map see the geography resources section)

General

Estimated Population in 2013*	52,980,000
Rural Population (% of total) (2013)*	36%
Total Surface Area*	1,213,090 sq km
Agricultural Land (% of total area) (2012)*	79%
Capital City	Pretoria (executive); Bloemfontein (judicial); Cape Town (legislative)
Region	Southern Africa
Border Countries	Namibia, Botswana,Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho.
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal (2013)*	12.500 Million cubic metres
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Agriculture (2013)*	63%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Domestic Use (2013)*	31%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Industry (2013)*	6%
Rural Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	88%
Urban Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	99%

* Source: World Bank

Climate

• Koppen Geiger Climate Zones

  Koppen Geiger Climate Zones

• Average Annual Precipitation

  Average Annual Precipitation

• Average Temperature

  Average Temperature

Temporal variations in temperature and rainfall. Rainfall time-series and graphs of monthly average rainfall and temperature for each individual climate zone can be found on the COUNTRY Climate Page.

Average monthly precipitation for COUNTRY showing minimum and maximum (light blue), 25th and 75th percentile (blue), and median (dark blue) rainfall Average monthly temperature for COUNTRY showing minimum and maximum (orange), 25th and 75th percentile (red), and median (black) temperature Quarterly precipitation over the period 1950-2012 Monthly precipitation (blue) over the period 2000-2012 compared with the long term monthly average (red)

For further detail on the climate datasets used see the climate resources section.

Surface water

File:COUNTRY Hydrology.png Surface Water Map of COUNTRY (For more information on the datasets used in the map see the surface water resources section)

Soil

File:COUNTRY soil.png Soil Map of COUNTRY (For map key and more information on the datasets used in the map see the soil resources section)

Land cover

File:COUNTRY LandCover.png Land Cover Map of COUNTRY (For map key and more information on the datasets used in the map see the land cover resources section)

Geology

This section provides a summary of the geology of XXX. More detail can be found in the references listed at the bottom of this page. Many of these references can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive. The geology map on this page shows a simplified version of the geology at a national scale (see the Geology resources page for more details). The map is available to download as a shapefile (.shp) for use in GIS packages.

File:COUNTRY Geology.png

Geological Environments

Key Formations	Period	Lithology	Structure
Geological Environment 1
Name of formation1	Time period	Description	Structure
Geological Environment 2
Geological Environment 3

Hydrogeology

This section provides a summary of the hydrogeology of the main aquifers in XXXX. More information is available in the references listed at the bottom of this page. Many of these references can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive. The hydrogeology map on this page shows a simplified version of the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the Aquifer properties resource page for more details). The map is available to download as a shapefile (.shp) for use in GIS packages.

File:COUNTRY Hydrogeology.png 

Unconsolidated

Named Aquifers	General Description	Water quantity issues	Water quality issues	Recharge

Sedimentary - Intergranular Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description	Water quantity issues	Water quality issues	Recharge

Sedimentary - Intergranular & Fracture Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description	Water quantity issues	Water quality issues	Recharge

Sedimentary - Fracture Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description	Water quantity issues	Water quality issues	Recharge

Basement

Named Aquifers	General Description	Water quantity issues	Water quality issues	Recharge

Groundwater use and management

Groundwater monitoring

Transboundary aquifers===

For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the Transboundary aquifers resources page

References

The following references provide more information on the geology and hydrogeology of South Africa.

These, and others, can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive EDIT THE LINK TO CORRECT COUNTRY!!

Return to the index pages

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of COUNTRY