Bethulie - Hendrik Verwoerd Dam

Southwest of Bethulie is the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, an artificial lake over 100km/62mi long, with an area of 374sq.km/144sq.mi, which was created in 1971 by the damming of the Orange River. The fourth largest artificial lake in Africa, with a dam 90m/300ft high and a maximum capacity of 5958 million cubic meters (1314 billion gallons), it is part of the Orange River Project, a large and complex irrigation scheme for the distribution of water from the river. In 1975 the 82.5km/51mi long Orange River Fish Tunnel was opened. The world's longest water tunnel, with a diameter of 5.35m/17.5ft, it conveys water from the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam into the valley of the Fish River and thus ensures an adequate water supply for Port Elizabeth. The lake