Noise Making Place
The name Augrabies is derived from the African word “oukurubes”, meaning the noise-making place. This is an apt description of the Augrabies, which is the site where the Gariep River rushes into a massive gorge, spraying clouds of water into the air.
The sound made by the rushing water can be heard from quite far off, especially during flood season when the river reaches its peak. The gorge itself is considered by geologists to be one of the finest displays of the weathering of granite by water.
Over the course of many years the Gariep Dam has carved its way through the rock barrier to make a gash in the land similar to one made by a knife.
A Fabled Pool
The Gariep River tumbles down the gorge in series of cascades and falls. It does so for 18 km, dropping over 300 m down, with the average depth of the gorge being 240 m. It starts with a 100 m drop, followed by another 100 m fall after squeezing through a narrow gap and finally combining to go down a 56 m drop into a deep pool at the base.
Over the years it has been said that a fortune of diamonds has been washed down the river and is now settled at the bottom of the pool, never to be seen again. Legend also has it that the pool is haunted by a mighty water serpent. Apart from fabled lost fortunes and great serpent, the hole that is the pool at the base of the fall is home to giant mud barbel and other fish that can reach 2 m in length.
Adding to the atmosphere is the roaring of several tributary gorges joining the main gorge as well as the sounds of swifts endlessly flying about. This makes for a scene at Augrabies of pure force in an untamed wilderness.
One of Six Great Waterfalls
The flow of water over Augrabies varies throughout the year with the river dwindling to a stream in the dry winter and swelling again when the rains come in the summer and the river overwhelms the gorge. During this time, 19 waterfalls crash into the gorge in a spectacular display of spray and echoing thunder.
At its peak, 400 million litres of water rush over the falls every minute, all of it being concentrated in a narrow gorge. Due to this marvel, Augrabies is regarded as one of the six great waterfalls of the world.
Each of the six has its own unique character, for example the Victoria Falls is thought of as having feminine beauty with green surroundings that add to the soft nature of the falls. Augrabies on the other hand, is a more masculine power with its brutal force and rough surroundings.
As the town of Augrabies is situated near the Orange River, the surrounding area is blessed with patches of fertile land amongst the arid de...
Augrabies is a tiny town located in the Green Kalahari Desert of the Northern Cape, and is most famous for its falls. The Augrabies Falls Na...