Upington

Upington //Khara hais (Nama)
Town
Aerial view of Upington's Central Business District
Upington Show map of Northern Cape Upington Show map of South Africa Upington Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 28°27′S 21°15′E / 28.45°S 21.25°E / -28.45; 21.25
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	ZF Mgcawu
Municipality	Dawid Kruiper
Established	1873[1]
Government
• Type	Local Municipality
• Mayor	Limakatso Koloi[2] (ANC)
Area [3]
• Total	580.8 km2 (224.2 sq mi)
Elevation	835 m (2,740 ft)
Population  (2011)[3]
• Total	74,834
• Density	130/km2 (330/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [3]
• Black African	25.6%
• Coloured	62.6%
• Indian/Asian	0.6%
• White	10.1%
• Other	1.1%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	85.5%
• Xhosa	6.1%
• Tswana	3.2%
• English	2.1%
• Other	3.1%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	8800
PO box	8800
Area code	+27 (0)54
Website	www.kharahais.gov.za www.greenkalahari.co.za

Upington (Khoekhoe: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of olive wood trees^{[clarification needed]} in the area, but later renamed after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General and then Prime Minister of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1871 and run by Reverend Christiaan Schröder. The mission station now houses the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of a donkey statue, which recognises the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th century.

The elevation of Upington is 2,742 feet (835 metres). It is the closest large centre to the Augrabies Falls (arguably the greatest of South African waterfalls) and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The landscape is very arid but the soil is fertile and crops such as fruit are grown in irrigated fields. The area is best known for its export-quality grapes, raisins and wines, which are cultivated on the rich flood plains of the Orange River.