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9-550: The Letsibogo Dam on the Motloutse has been built to serve the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation. A field survey of the region in January 1989, before the dam was built, recorded 120 species of birds, mostly small insectivores. A relatively large number of water birds were found due to the presence of permanent pools on the Motloutse river downstream from its confluence with

18-411: Is 2,000 millimetres (79 in). Due to this difference, the river is an ephemeral sand river with surface flow only during the rainy season. Rainfall is also highly variable, with below 40% of the average annual rains expected one year in seven. Mean annual runoff is 111,000,000 cubic metres (3.9 × 10 cu ft). Gold mining along the Motloutse and Limpopo rivers started around 1200 CE, about

27-522: Is a dam on the Motloutse River in Botswana , built to initially provide water to the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding areas, with the potential for use in irrigation. The dam now supplies Gaborone , the capital of the country, via a 400 kilometres (250 mi) pipeline, as well as major villages along the pipeline route. The dam is located near the village of Mmadinare . The climate

36-459: Is tropical and semi-arid, with 90% of rainfall during the period from November to March. Mean annual precipitation is about 450 millimetres (18 in) in the catchment area above the dam. It is very variable, with rainfall less than 40% of the average expected in one year in seven. In August 2012 the dam was only one-third full, prompting concerns that there could soon be water shortages in the areas of Palapye , Mahalapye and Gaborone. Some blamed

45-661: The Letlhakane river . The species of bird were generally typical for the region. Before the dam was built, five or more pioneer fish species would migrate upstream from the Limpopo River into the Motloutse River during floods. The Letsibogo dam was expected to support a permanent fish population similar to that of the Shashe Dam . Mean annual precipitation is 430 millimetres (17 in), while mean annual potential evapotranspiration

54-598: The diamonds examined the river up to its headwaters, but found no likely source. In 2004, geologist Leon Daniels identified a warp in the Earth's crust stretching from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe to the south of Botswana. He speculated that before the warp formed, the Motoutse river could have risen much farther to the west. Eventually, he found the huge Orapa kimberlite . Citations Sources Letsibogo Dam The Letsibogo Dam

63-419: The northeast of Botswana to the southeast. It is linked to Gaborone by a 400 kilometres (250 mi) pipeline. The initial North South Carrier Scheme cost about US$ 350 million, and came into operation in 2000. Although primarily designed for water storage, the dam is being promoted for tourists as a place for water sports and fishing. In 2011 the government announced plans to upgrade the infrastructure round

72-734: The problem in part to slow repair of leaking pipelines. The dam was designed for the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources by Arup , who also supervised construction of the water storage embankment and central clay-core dam. It has storage capacity of 100,000,000 cubic metres (3.5 × 10  cu ft). It is operated by the Water Utilities Corporation . The dam is part of the North-South Carrier Water Project , which includes other dams, water transmission systems and water treatment works, bringing water from

81-581: The time that Great Zimbabwe rose to become a regional power. was found in 1860 in the old workings near Francistown , to the north of the river, causing the first small gold rush in Africa. The first authenticated diamonds to be found in Botswana were three small stones discovered in 1959 by the Central African Selection Trust in gravels in the Motloutse River near Foley Siding . The team that found

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