“Bethal”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

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.

History

The town originated on an old farm called Blesbokspruit.^[3]{{rp|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]{{rp|302}} It became a municipality in 1921.^[3]{{rp|302}}

Economy

Agriculture

Bethal is famous for its potato industry^[3]{{rp|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]{{rp|302}} Bethal was once the headquarters of AFGRI, and agricultural firm, now based in Centurion but its flour mill remains in the town.^[3]{{rp|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]{{rp|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

{{Weather box
|location = Bethal (1961–1990, extremes 1903–present)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 37.5
|Feb record high C = 34.4
|Mar record high C = 33.3
|Apr record high C = 30.0
|May record high C = 27.4
|Jun record high C = 25.2
|Jul record high C = 24.6
|Aug record high C = 28.1
|Sep record high C = 32.0
|Oct record high C = 33.0
|Nov record high C = 32.6
|Dec record high C = 34.8
|year record high C = 37.5
|Jan high C = 26
|Feb high C = 25
|Mar high C = 25
|Apr high C = 22
|May high C = 20
|Jun high C = 17
|Jul high C = 17
|Aug high C = 20
|Sep high C = 23
|Oct high C = 24
|Nov high C = 24
|Dec high C = 25
|year high C = 22
|Jan low C = 14
|Feb low C = 13
|Mar low C = 12
|Apr low C = 9
|May low C = 4
|Jun low C = 1
|Jul low C = 1
|Aug low C = 4
|Sep low C = 8
|Oct low C = 10
|Nov low C = 12
|Dec low C = 13
|year low C = 8
|Jan record low C = 4.0
|Feb record low C = 6.0
|Mar record low C = 0.5
|Apr record low C = -1.4
|May record low C = -5.9
|Jun record low C = -9.2
|Jul record low C = -10.6
|Aug record low C = -12.5
|Sep record low C = -5.6
|Oct record low C = -1.2
|Nov record low C = 1.0
|Dec record low C = 1.7
|year record low C = -12.5
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 146
|Feb precipitation mm = 75
|Mar precipitation mm = 61
|Apr precipitation mm = 48
|May precipitation mm = 14
|Jun precipitation mm = 7
|Jul precipitation mm = 6
|Aug precipitation mm = 13
|Sep precipitation mm = 28
|Oct precipitation mm = 78
|Nov precipitation mm = 129
|Dec precipitation mm = 106
|year precipitation mm = 711
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 15
|Feb precipitation days = 9
|Mar precipitation days = 9
|Apr precipitation days = 7
|May precipitation days = 3
|Jun precipitation days = 2
|Jul precipitation days = 1
|Aug precipitation days = 2
|Sep precipitation days = 4
|Oct precipitation days = 10
|Nov precipitation days = 14
|Dec precipitation days = 13
|year precipitation days = 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. ^{{cite web|title=Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)|url=http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-07212011-123414/unrestricted/05back.pdf|pages=xlv-lii}}
2. ^¹²³{{cite web |url=https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/866008003 |title = Sub Place Bethal |work=Census 2011}}
3. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶{{cite book | title=On Route in South Africa: Explore South Africa region by region | publisher=Jonathan Ball Publishers | author=Erasmus, B.P.J. | year=2014 | pages=401 | isbn=9781920289805}}
4. ^http://www.routes.co.za/mp/bethal/index.html {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130140857/http://routes.co.za/mp/bethal/index.html |date=2010-11-30 }}
5. ^Major rivers and streams within the Limpopo River Basin
6. ^{{cite web | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110909083531/http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/BethalStats.jsp| archivedate = 9 September 2011| url = http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/BethalStats.jsp | title = Climate data for Bethal| accessdate = 19 November 2016 |publisher = South African Weather Service}}
7. ^{{cite web | url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=760| title = Station Bethal| publisher = Meteo Climat |language = French | accessdate = 19 November 2016}}