Vaal Triangle
{{wikidatacoord}}{{short description|Urban area near Johannesburg, South Africa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The Vaal Triangle is a triangular area formed by Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg about 60 km south of Johannesburg, South Africa.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Kim |date=2021-04-28 |title=Explore the Vaal Triangle {{!}} Joburg Guide |url=https://joburg.co.za/explore-the-vaal-triangle/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Joburg.co.za |language=en}} The area forms a substantial urban complex. Meyerton, just north of Vereeniging, is also sometimes included in the complex,{{Cite web |title=Meyerton |url=https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/meyerton.php |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.sa-venues.com}} and residents of Sharpeville, Boipatong, Bophelong, the greater Sebokeng area (including Evaton), Three Rivers, Heidelberg and Deneysville also generally tend to consider themselves to live in the Vaal Triangle.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} The area straddles the Vaal River and is a major industrial region, which is home to former Iron and Steel Corporation Iscor, now ArcelorMittal South Africa, and Sasol, respectively the steel and petrochemical processing facilities.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://arcelormittalsa.com/Whoweare/OurHistory.aspx |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=arcelormittalsa.com}}{{Cite web |title=Operations / Locations {{!}} |url=https://www.sasol.com/about-sasol/regional-operating-hubs/southern-africa-operations/sasolburg-operations/operations |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.sasol.com}}
Pollution
Due to the heavy industries in and around the Vaal Triangle it has become infamous for its air pollution and respiratory disease. According to an analysis by OpenAQ, the area regularly registers the highest concentration of PM2.5 particulate pollution worldwide.{{Cite web |last=Bloomberg |date=2024-03-03 |title=What it’s like to live in the most polluted place on earth, the Vaal Triangle |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-03-what-its-like-to-live-in-the-most-polluted-place-on-earth-the-vaal-triangle/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}
In 2013, research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) revealed that areas in the Vaal Triangle have persistently higher concentrations of air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, than in the rest of South Africa.{{Cite web|title=CSIR study finds annual standards for air pollutants in the Vaal Triangle exceeded {{!}} CSIR|url=https://www.csir.co.za/csir-study-finds-annual-standards-air-pollutants-vaal-triangle-exceeded|access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.csir.co.za}} For this reason, local Afrikaans speaking people often refer to the region as the Vuil Driehoek (meaning Dirty Triangle) as a pun on Vaal Driehoek (the Afrikaans translation for Vaal Triangle).{{Cite web |date=2021-03-30 |title=Fossil fuel’s killer air pollution: South Africa’s death toll |url=https://energytransition.org/2021/03/fossil-fuels-killer-air-pollution-south-africas-death-toll/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Energy Transition |language=en-US}}
Tourism and recreation
Nearby is the Vaal Dam, from which the massive PWV megalopolis (Pretoria, Witwatersrand and Vereeniging) draws its water.{{cite web|url=http://www.dwaf.gov.za/orange/Vaal/vaaldam.htm|title=VAAL DAM|publisher=Department of Water Affairs|access-date=19 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626050028/www.dwaf.gov.za/orange/Vaal/vaaldam.htm|archive-date=2019-06-26}} The PWV forms the urban heart of Gauteng province. The Witwatersrand is the name given to the area that comprises the Greater Johannesburg metropole and the gold-bearing reef along which gold was discovered in 1886.
The Vaal Dam is well-patronised by people from Johannesburg over the weekends and during holidays, as it provides extensive water recreation facilities some 70 km south of the city.
References
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External links
- [http://www.nwu.ac.za/vtc/index.html Vaal Triangle University Campus - North-West University]
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