The Vaal dam in South Africa is located 77 kilometers from Johannesburg International Airport and used to be South Africa's largest dam. It was constructed in 1938. The lake behind the dam has a surface area of 300 km² and is 47 meters deep.
The Vaal dam lies on the Vaal river, which is one of South Africa's strongest-flowing rivers. The Vaal Dam has over 800 km of coast line and covers an area in excess of three hundred square kilometres. It is South Africa's biggest dam by area and the third largest by volume.
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project feeds fresh clean water into the system in order to supply drinking water to Gauteng and environs. This water is transported from Lesotho via the Liebenbergsvlei and Wilge Rivers.
The dam has its own island (almost 5 km long) that was used for secret meetings during the apartheid era. The sleepy town of Deneysville was used as a stop over point by the old Britannia Airways flying boats.
Many world class events take place here including the annual "Round The Island" yacht race—a race that has been in the Guinness Book of Records for being the "Largest Inland Yacht Race in the World".
Several large events take place here including Keelboat Week and the Bayshore 200 km jetski race, and now the Bayshore Marina Vaal Dam Treasure Hunt.
The dam is unique in that three provinces make up the coastline. The Free State is the largest by area, Mpumalanga has a beautiful but rural coastline and the most active by far is the Gauteng coastline |
