Bethal

Bethal is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies 155 km east of Johannesburg.

Bethal
Bethal
Bethal
Coordinates: 26°27′S 29°27′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceMpumalanga
DistrictGert Sibande
MunicipalityGovan Mbeki
Established1898[1]
Area
 • Total51.94 km2 (20.05 sq mi)
Elevation
1,660 m (5,450 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total60,779
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African84.7%
 • Coloured0.9%
 • Indian/Asian0.8%
 • White13.2%
 • Other0.4%
First languages (2011)
 • Zulu66.7%
 • Afrikaans13.1%
 • S. Ndebele6.8%
 • English3.5%
 • Other10.0%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
2310
PO box
2310
Area code017 647

History

The town originated on an old farm called Blesbokspruit.[3]:302 The town, established in on 12 October 1880,[4] was named after the combined names of the wives of the owners of the farm, Elizabeth du Plooy and Alida Naude.[3]:302 It became a municipality in 1921.[3]:302

Economy

Agriculture

Bethal is famous for its potato industry,[3]:302 and the annual National Potato Festival was held there in early May, but discontinued in 2007. Other agriculture includes maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye, oats and barley. Animal husbandry includes cattle, dairy and sheep farming.[3]:302 Bethal was once the headquarters of AFGRI, and agricultural firm, now based in Centurion but its flour mill remains in the town.[3]:302

Mining

Bethal lies in South Africa's coal mining region and there are mines close by. Exxaro acquired the Total Coal South Africa in 2014 and has five mines in the area.[3]:302 Apart from exports, the coal is used in the Eskom power stations that dot the region.

Geography

The Olifants River has its origin near Bethal.[5] The river eventually flows into the Limpopo River in Mozambique.

Climate
Climate data for Bethal (1961–1990, extremes 1903–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 37.5
(99.5)		 34.4
(93.9)		 33.3
(91.9)		 30.0
(86.0)		 27.4
(81.3)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.6
(76.3)		 28.1
(82.6)		 32.0
(89.6)		 33.0
(91.4)		 32.6
(90.7)		 34.8
(94.6)		 37.5
(99.5)
Average high °C (°F) 26
(79)		 25
(77)		 25
(77)		 22
(72)		 20
(68)		 17
(63)		 17
(63)		 20
(68)		 23
(73)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 25
(77)		 22
(72)
Average low °C (°F) 14
(57)		 13
(55)		 12
(54)		 9
(48)		 4
(39)		 1
(34)		 1
(34)		 4
(39)		 8
(46)		 10
(50)		 12
(54)		 13
(55)		 8
(46)
Record low °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)		 6.0
(42.8)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −9.2
(15.4)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −12.5
(9.5)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 1.0
(33.8)		 1.7
(35.1)		 −12.5
(9.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 146
(5.7)		 75
(3.0)		 61
(2.4)		 48
(1.9)		 14
(0.6)		 7
(0.3)		 6
(0.2)		 13
(0.5)		 28
(1.1)		 78
(3.1)		 129
(5.1)		 106
(4.2)		 711
(28.0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 15 9 9 7 3 2 1 2 4 10 14 13 90
Source 1: South African Weather Service[6]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[7]

Law and government

Bethal lies in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality (formerly Highveld East Local Municipality) situated in the Gert Sibande District, of Mpumalanga. Secunda is the seat of the municipality.

Infrastructure

Roads

Bethal is the crossroads of three main roads. R38 leads out north-east of the town to Carolina. The R35 north leads to Middleburg 80 km away while the R35 south connects to Amersfoort 80 km away and the N11 national road. The N17 West connects the town to the southern suburbs of Johannesburg and N17 east to Ermelo and Swaziland.

References
  1. "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)" (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
  2. "Sub Place Bethal". Census 2011.
  3. Erasmus, B.P.J. (2014). On Route in South Africa: Explore South Africa region by region. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 401. ISBN 9781920289805.
  4. http://www.routes.co.za/mp/bethal/index.html Archived 2010-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Major rivers and streams within the Limpopo River Basin
  6. "Climate data for Bethal". South African Weather Service. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  7. "Station Bethal" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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