Augrabies Falls
The Augrabies Falls is a waterfall on the Orange River, South Africa, within the Augrabies Falls National Park. The falls are around 183 feet (56 m) in height. Some sources cite an approximate height of 480 feet; this is actually the height from the base of the canyon to the top of the walls, not that of the falls themselves. The original Khoikhoi residents named the waterfall "Ankoerebis" — "place of great noise" — from which the Trek Boers, who settled here later on, derived the name, "Augrabies".
The Augrabies Falls have recorded 7,800 cubic metres (280,000 cu ft) of water every second in floods in 1988 (and 6,800 cubic metres (240,000 cu ft) in the floods of 2006). This is over three times the average high season flow rate of Niagara Falls of 2,400 cubic metres (85,000 cu ft) per second, more than four times Niagara's annual average, and greater than Niagara's all-time record of 6,800 cubic metres (240,000 cu ft) per second.
The gorge at the Augrabies Falls is 240 metres (800 ft) deep and 18 kilometres (10 mi) long, and is an impressive example of granite erosion. Wikipedia
Photo. J-K & B Chodacki. Augrabies 1987
Upington is a town founded in 1884 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. Wikipedia
The Northern Cape is South Africa's largest province, with desert landscapes, wildlife and gemstones. With Botswana, it shares Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, whose red sand dunes shelter lions and falcons. Wild daisies and other springtime flowers carpet the typically arid plains of Namaqualand, a region stretching into Namibia.
Augrabies Falls National Park is a national park located around the Augrabies Falls, about 120 km west of Upington in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa.
The Orange River is the longest river in South Africa and the Orange River Basin extends extensively into Namibia and Botswana to the north.
