|
|
The Diep estuary
(33°53' S;
18°28' E)
drains into the Atlantic Ocean and is situated near the coastal city of Cape Town in the Western Cape. The river is approximately 87 km long with a catchment area of 1 495 sq. km. Agriculture, mainly temporary commercial dryland agriculture, permanent commercial irrigated agriculture, and commercial forestry accounted for about 74% of the catchment land-cover of the Diep system. About 2% comprised degraded shrubland and bushland while 17% was natural, consisting of shrubland, bushland, grassland, and waterbodies and wetlands (Rietvlei). Urban development accounted for about 7% of the land-cover and was mainly residential, industrial and commercial development mostly associated with the coastal city of Cape Town. The town of Malmesbury is situated in the upper catchment of the Diep system.
|
