Steenbras Dam
Encyclopedia
The Steenbras Dam is a dam in the Hottentots-Holland
mountains near Cape Town
in South Africa
. It is one of the city's water supplies. The Steenbras pumped-storage
scheme was opened in 1979 to supplement the city's electricity supply during peak demand periods.
The dam is named after the steenbras
, a fish endemic to South Africa.
Hottentots-Holland
The Hottentots Holland mountain range is part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed of Table Mountain Sandstone and forms an impressive range to the...
mountains near Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is one of the city's water supplies. The Steenbras pumped-storage
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps...
scheme was opened in 1979 to supplement the city's electricity supply during peak demand periods.
The dam is named after the steenbras
White steenbras
The white steenbras is a species of fish in the Sparidae family. It is endemic to South Africa.-Source:* Skelton, P. 1996. . Downloaded on 4 August 2007....
, a fish endemic to South Africa.