Water Wheel Sept/Oct 2024: River Ecosystems

Abstract

Cover feature Silvermine – A journey along one of South Africa’s aquatic jewels Cape Town’s Silvermine River, which today falls in the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) winds from its source in Steenberg Mountain to Clovelly Beach, next to Fish Hoek Beach in the city’s southern suburbs. Following its course is to hike through the history of a popular section of Cape Town and a journey through South Africa’s differing approaches to water management. The source and the beginning Water flows to the 12.3 km Silvermine River from a catchment area of over 2 000 ha. Starting at an altitude of 640 m, the river flows southeasterly across the Steenberg Plateau, formed during faulting and uplift in the early Tertiary, some 30 million years ago. An information board at the river mouth tells the tale of the early inhabitants of this area. A combination of rock shelters, highprotein marine foods, abundant seasonal game, and veldkos (wild plants) attracted people to the mountains, valleys, and shore of False Bay. It’s easy to imagine that the river was also part of the appeal.

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