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The Berg estuary
(32°46' S;
18°9' E)
is located in the Western Cape and is found on the west coast, north of the coastal city of Cape Town. The river is approximately 294 km long with a catchment area of 7 715 sq. km. About 65% of the Berg catchment was under agriculture, mostly temporary commercial dryland agriculture, permanent commercial irrigated agriculture, and commercial forestry. Approximately 4% of the catchment was degraded, comprising mainly degraded shrubland and bushland. Roughly 30% of the Berg catchment was natural, mainly shrubland, bushland, grassland, and waterbodies and wetlands. Urban development accounted for about 1% of the catchment land-cover. This was mainly residential, commercial and industrial development. Major towns in the Berg catchment included Velddrift and Laaiplek near the coast, Piketberg, Hopefield, Mooreesburg and Darling further inland, and Wellington and Paarl in the upper catchment.
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