Upington

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Upington
Aerial view of Upington's Central Business District

Seal
Nickname(s): Olyfenhoutsdrift
Motto: The People Govern / Die Mense Regeer
Upington is located in Northern Cape
Upington
Map showing the location of Upington within the Northern Cape
Upington is located in South Africa
Upington
Map showing the location of Upington within the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 28°24′S 21°16′E / 28.4°S 21.267°E / -28.4; 21.267Coordinates: 28°24′S 21°16′E / 28.4°S 21.267°E / -28.4; 21.267
Country South Africa
Province Northern Cape
District Siyanda
Municipality Khara Hais
Established 1873[1]
Government
 • Type Local Municipality
 • Mayor Gift van Staden (ANC)
 • Municipal Manager W.J.B. Engelbrecht
Area[2]
 • Total 38.95 km2 (15.04 sq mi)
Population (2007)[2]
 • Total 46,909
 • Density 1,204/km2 (3,120/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)[2]
 • Black African 2.4%
 • Coloured 79.3%
 • Indian/Asian 0.1%
 • White 18.2%
First languages (2001)[2]
 • Afrikaans 97.8%
 • Other 2.2%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Postal code 8800
Area code(s) +27 (0)54
Website www.kharahais.gov.za www.greenkalahari.co.za

Upington is a town founded in 1884 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was named after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General and then Prime Minister of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1875 and run by Reverend Schröder. The mission station now houses the town museum, known as the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of a donkey statue, which recognizes the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th Century.

The elevation of Upington is 2742 feet (835 metres). It is the closest large centre to the Augrabies Falls, arguably the greatest of South African waterfalls. The landscape is very arid but the soil is fertile and crops such as fruit are grown in irrigated fields. The area is best known for its export-quality grapes, raisins and wines, which are cultivated on the rich flood plains of the Orange river.

Contents

[edit] Wine Industry

Upington's most famous wines are produced by an organization generally known as Orange River Wine Cellars (OWC). The organization has six depots in the area (all of them on the banks of the Orange River) at Upington, Kanoneiland, Grootdrink, Kakamas, Keimoes and Groblershoop. The wines from OWC are exported, inter alia, to Europe and the USA. Dig a little deeper and you'll find privately owned cellars, producing quality red and white wines as well. Bezalel Dyasonsklip offers a variety of local treasures, such as low tanin red wines, 5 year old Pot-stilled brandy, a mampoer range and liqueurs. The Upington region accounts for more or less 40% of South Africa's grape exports.

[edit] Famous Upington people

[edit] Transportation

Upington has a modern airport with scheduled flights provided by SA Airlink (an affiliate of South African Airways).[3] The airport's runway, spanning 4900m,[4] is one of the longest in the world and the longest in Africa. Until the 1960s, the airport was also the site of the annual gliding world championships[citation needed].

In the first half of the 20th century there was a passenger train service from Cape Town to Upington. Until the 1950s a narrow-gauge railway line (two foot gauge) ran from Upington to Kakamas and Keimoes, two nearby towns. The trains carried passengers and freight, being mainly dried fruit. The line to Kakamas was still in use during the November 2010 grape harvest season.[5]

[edit] Geography and climate

Upington
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
24
 
36
20
 
 
35
 
34
20
 
 
37
 
32
18
 
 
26
 
28
13
 
 
10
 
24
8
 
 
4
 
21
5
 
 
2
 
21
4
 
 
4
 
23
6
 
 
4
 
27
9
 
 
9
 
30
13
 
 
17
 
33
16
 
 
17
 
35
19
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: SAWS[6]

Upington is located on the northern banks of the Orange River and is surrounded by irrigated vineyards.[7] The hottest month of the year is January, with average daily temperatures swinging from 36 °C (97 °F) to 20 °C (68 °F), while in the coolest month of July temperatures range between 21 °C (70 °F) and 4 °C (39 °F).[6] Also the dryest month of the year, July sees an average rainfall of only 2 millimetres (0.079 in), while the wettest month of March sees 37 millimetres (1.5 in).

Climate data for Upington
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 42
(108)		 42
(108)		 41
(106)		 38
(100)		 34
(93)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 33
(91)		 39
(102)		 40
(104)		 41
(106)		 43
(109)		 43
(109)
Average high °C (°F) 36
(97)		 34
(93)		 32
(90)		 28
(82)		 24
(75)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 23
(73)		 27
(81)		 30
(86)		 33
(91)		 35
(95)		 29
(84)
Average low °C (°F) 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 18
(64)		 13
(55)		 8
(46)		 5
(41)		 4
(39)		 6
(43)		 9
(48)		 13
(55)		 16
(61)		 19
(66)		 13
(55)
Record low °C (°F) 10
(50)		 9
(48)		 5
(41)		 2
(36)		 −2
(28)		 −5
(23)		 −6
(21)		 −7
(19)		 −2
(28)		 2
(36)		 5
(41)		 6
(43)		 −7
(19)
Precipitation mm (inches) 24
(0.94)		 35
(1.38)		 37
(1.46)		 26
(1.02)		 10
(0.39)		 4
(0.16)		 2
(0.08)		 4
(0.16)		 4
(0.16)		 9
(0.35)		 17
(0.67)		 17
(0.67)		 189
(7.44)
Avg. precipitation days 4 6 6 5 2 2 1 1 2 3 3 4 37
Sunshine hours 353 299 298 284 291 270 290 307 300 329 345 367 3,733
Source no. 1: South African Weather Service[6]
Source no. 2: The Weather Network [8]

[edit] Gallery

  • 4900m Runway

  • Golf Course

  • View from "Die Eiland" Holiday Resort

[edit] See also

  • Vastrap, South Africa's former nuclear weapons test range.

Sister city

[edit] References

  1. ^ Upington
  2. ^ a b c d "Main Place". Census 2001. http://census.adrianfrith.com/place/31711. 
  3. ^ South African Airways
  4. ^ "Upington". World Aero Data. Avigation Networks, Inc.. http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=SF69746&sch=FAUP. Retrieved 2008-03-26. 
  5. ^ http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2011/01/flood-at-upington/
  6. ^ a b c "Climate data for Upington". South African Weather Service. http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/UpingtonStats.jsp. Retrieved 7 March 2010. 
  7. ^ Pinchuck, Tony; Barbara McCrea; Donald Reid (July 2002). Rough guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland. Rough Guides. pp. 319, 322. ISBN 9781858288536. http://books.google.com/books?id=rXN6xJjPlrwC&pg=PA319. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  8. ^ "Climate Statistics for Upington, South Africa". http://www.theweathernetwork.com/statistics/c01864. Retrieved February 10, 2012. 

[edit] External links
Provincial Capital: Kimberley
District
and Local
Municipalities
Municipalities and communities of Siyanda District Municipality, Northern Cape
District seat: Upington
Local municipalities
Siyanda District within the Northern Cape
Cities and towns
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