Item talk:Q124595

Ground-water provinces of southern Rhodesia

Ground-water development, utilization, and occurrence in nine ground-water provinces of Southern Rhodesia are summarized in this report. Water obtained from drilled wells for domestic and stock use has played an important part in the social and economic development of Southern Rhodesia from the beginnings of European settlement to the present. Most of the wells obtain water from fractures and weathered zones in crystalline rocks, before recently, there has been an interest in the possibility of obtaining water for irrigation from wells. Studies of the authors indicate that quantities of water sufficient for irrigation can be obtained from alluvial sediments in the S'abi Valley, from Kalahari sands in the western part of the country, are perhaps from aquifers in other areas. The ground-water provinces fall into two groups--those in the crystalline rocks and those in the noncrystalline rocks. Historically, the wells in crystalline rocks, especially the Gold belts province and the Intrusive granites province, have played a major role in supplying water for the needs of man. These provinces, together with two other less important crystalline rock provinces, form the broad arch which constitutes the central core of the country. The noncrystalline rocks overlie and flank the crystalline rocks to the southeast, northwest, and north. The noncrystalline rock provinces, especially the Alluvium-Kalahari province, contain the most productive or potentially productive ground-water reservoirs in Southern Rhodesia and offer promise of supplying water for irrigation and for other purposes.