Lake · Namibia
Hardap Dam
Hardap Dam is a large reservoir in the dry south of Namibia, a few kilometres from the town of Mariental. A dam wall across the Fish River holds back its water, and many wild animals live around it.
Picture credit: Thomas.macmillan (CC BY 3.0) · Henning Sidow (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Hardap Dam?
Countries on its shores: Namibia.
Middle of the lake: 24.50° S, 17.84° E
The story behind it
Work on the dam wall began in 1960, and the dam opened in 1963. The wall is almost 40 metres high and about 860 metres long. Behind it the Fish River fills a lake of about 25 km², but in this dry land the water level changes a lot. After big floods in 1972, 1974, 1976, 2000 and 2006, the lake is now kept at no more than 70 % full. In February 2020 it held only 6 % of the water it can hold. For more than 50 years Hardap was the largest dam in Namibia, until the Neckartal Dam further down the Fish River was finished in 2018. Black rhinos, gemsbok, Hartmann's mountain zebras and kudus live in the area around the lake. Great white pelicans, fish eagles and ospreys catch fish in the water, and visitors come to swim, fish and watch birds.
Find it on the globe
Hardap Dam is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Hardap Dam?
When it is full, the lake behind Hardap Dam covers about 25 km²; one source gives 28.7 km². In February 2020 it held only 6 % of the water it can hold.
Is Hardap Dam the biggest lake in Namibia?
For more than 50 years it was Namibia's largest dam, but the Neckartal Dam now holds more than three times as much water, and its lake is about as big. Lake Liambezi, a natural lake, was once the country's largest lake with up to 100 km², but since 2016 it has been almost completely dry again.
Which animals live at Hardap Dam?
Black rhinos, gemsbok, Hartmann's mountain zebras and kudus live in the area. On the water you can see great white pelicans, fish eagles and ospreys.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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