Natural water bodies of National Wetland Map III (NWM3).

Mapping the locality of wetlands is essential so that they may be classified into the different wetland ecosystem types across the country, which in turn can be used along with other data to identify wetlands of significance.

Van Deventer, H., Smith-Adao, L., Mbona, N., Petersen, C., Skowno, A., Collins, N.B., Grenfell, M., Job, N., Lötter, M., Ollis, D., Scherman, P., Sieben, E. & Snaddon, K. 2018. South African National Biodiversity Assessment 2018: Technical Report. Volume 2a: South African Inventory of Inland Aquatic Ecosystems (SAIIAE). Version 3, final released on 3 October 2019. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI): Pretoria, South Africa. Report Number: CSIR report number CSIR/NRE/ECOS/IR/2018/0001/A; SANBI report number http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/5847.

This layer is a static NWM3. The latest versions of the National Wetland Map can be viewed on the South African Inventory of Inland and Aquatic Ecosystems project page on BGIS

There are no access limitations for this item.

There are no use limitations for this item. The latest version of the National Wetland Map is available on the South African Inland Inventory of Aquatic Ecosystems project page on BGIS.

WGS 1984

Projection: Albers

False_Easting: 0.0

False_Northing: 0.0

Central_Meridian: 25.0

Standard_Parallel_1: -24.0

Standard_Parallel_2: -33.0

Latitude_Of_Origin: 0.0

Linear Unit: Meter (1.0)

The National Wetlands Map III (NWM3) is a combination of NWM2 extracted from the National Land Cover 2000 dataset and the Waterbodies of the 1:50 000 of topomaps from Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (CDSM). These two datasets were further categorized into natural waterbody, artificial waterbody and unclassified waterbodies. For the natural water body layer, the following features were combined: Marsh Pans, Mud Flats etc.

PERENNIAL PAN: A perennial pan is a circular depression filled with water, found in low-lying areas. Perennial pans contain water throughout the year but the water level may vary depending on the season.

NON-PERENNIAL PAN: A non-perennial pan is a circular depression found in low lying areas. Water accumulates in non-perennial pans during the rainy season, however that water usually evaporates during the dry season

MUD FLATS: Mud flats are stretches of muddy land covered by the sea at high tide and exposed at low tide. They are also found in river estuaries and lagoons.

POOL: A pool is a dormant body of water, collected in a depression on the land's surface or a purpose-built recreation area used primarily for sporting purposes.

LAKE: A lake is an extensive mass of water enclosed by land, occupying a hollow in the earth's surface. Normally the amount of water flowing into a lake exceeds that lost by evaporation, and there is an out-flowing stream. Water in the lake is fresh. Seasonal rainfall can result in the level of the lake fluctuating considerably.

DRY PAN: A pan is a low lying area that normally contains water that collects therein, usually when the water table of the surrounding area is high and the ground is saturated. When water no longer lies in the depression it is known as a dry pan. This may happen when the water table is lowered because too much water is pumped out of the ground or through evaporation. They are usually found in dry parts of the country that generally receive periodic rainfall.

Although every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the data, SANBI does not take responsibility for errors or problems that arise for using this dataset.

SANS 1878

FGDC-STD-001-1998