Lake · Eswatini
Maguga Dam
The Maguga Dam lake is a large reservoir on the Komati River in the Hhohho region of Eswatini. It is not a natural lake: it filled up behind a huge dam that was finished in 2001.
Picture credit: FreddieA (CC BY-SA 3.0) · René C. Nielsen (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Maguga Dam?
Countries on its shores: Eswatini.
Middle of the lake: 26.07° S, 31.24° E
The story behind it
The Maguga Dam stands about 12 kilometres south of the town of Piggs Peak. Its wall is 115 metres high and 870 metres long, and it is made of rock with a core of clay. Eswatini and South Africa built the dam together, and it was the biggest building project Eswatini had ever carried out. When the lake is full, it covers about 10.4 square kilometres and holds about 332 million cubic metres of water. Farmers use the water to grow thirsty sugar cane and trees, and about 1 000 small farmers in Eswatini get water from it too. A power station at the dam makes electricity. Before the valley was flooded, scientists counted 195 kinds of birds there, and some rare lizards were carried to new homes nearby. In dry years the water sinks a lot: in 2016 the lake was less than a third full.
Find it on the globe
Maguga 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 the Maguga Dam lake?
When it is full, the lake covers about 10.4 km² and holds about 332 million m³ of water. In dry years it holds much less: in 2016 it was less than a third full.
What is the water used for?
Farmers use it to water sugar cane, trees and the fields of about 1 000 small farmers. A power station at the dam also makes electricity.
Who built the dam?
Eswatini and South Africa signed an agreement in 1992 and built the dam together. It was finished in 2001, and Eswatini paid about 40 percent of the cost.
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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