Unique dune system shows sustainable use is possible

Abstract

GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT P roclaimed in 1994 the Witsand Nature Reserve is situated 70 km from Postmasburg, just west of the Langberg Mountain Range, in the Northern Cape. An area of flowing white dunes, nine kilometers long and four kilometers wide, Witsand derived its name after the white sand of the dunes, which is in total contrast against the surrounding red Kalahari sands (‘Witsand’ literally means ‘white sand’). It is reported that the white dunes have been created through continual leaching, which has washed the red iron oxide coating from the quartzite grains. Receiving only about 290 mm of rainfall a year, mostly in the form of thunderstorms, Witsand is extremely arid, and every drop of water is precious. Sustaining this unique ecosystem is the Witsand aquifer, which since earliest times has been the only reliable source of permanent water in this parched region.

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