Musina Messina | |
|---|---|
  Musina  Musina  Musina | |
| Coordinates:22°20′17″S30°02′30″E / 22.33806°S 30.04167°E /-22.33806; 30.04167 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Limpopo |
| District | Vhembe |
| Municipality | Musina |
| Established | 1904 |
| Area | |
• Total | 109.38 km2 (42.23 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 42,678 |
| • Density | 390.18/km2 (1,010.6/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 93.3% |
| • Coloured | 0.4% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.7% |
| • White | 5.1% |
| • Other | 0.5% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Venda | 48.8% |
| • Sotho | 11.7% |
| • Northern Sotho | 10.4% |
| • English | 5.4% |
| • Other | 23.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 0900 |
| PO box | 0900 |
| Area code | 015 |
| Website | www |
Musina, also known asMessina (/mɛˈsiːnə/), is the northernmost town in theLimpopo province ofSouth Africa. It is located near the confluence of theLimpopo River with theSand River and the border toZimbabwe with a population of between 20,000 and 40,000.Iron ore,coal,magnetite,graphite,asbestos,diamonds, semi-precious stones andcopper are mined in the region.
After serving in theAnglo-Boer War, Colonel John Pascoe "J.P." Grenfell (1866-1948), grandson ofJohn Pascoe Grenfell and brother ofFrancis Octavius Grenfell, came to South Africa after hearing rumours of valuable copper being in the area.[2][3] Two prospectors, James Harper and James Campbell, told Grenfell that there were copper deposits, south of the Limpopo River, where the local tribe discovered them.[2] Apparently, the tribe had mined the copper, but the prospectors said their mining of it had ceased.
Grenfell went to the area and had the deposits inspected. After verifying that they were valuable, he purchased a farm, Berkenrode, near a planned mining site, in October 1903.[2] Five months later, he was granted a discoverer's certificate and, in that same month (March 1904), he founded the village Messina (later Musina).[2]
In January 1905, he founded, and chaired, the Messina (Transvaal) Development Company, which became one of the largest companies in South Africa.[2] Prior to becoming president of the United States,Herbert Hoover, served on the board of the company from 1914 to 1916.[4] Most people in Musina are eitherVenda people orSotho people. Roughly 5% of residents in Musina are English-speaking Whites ofBritish descent, almost exclusively this portion of the population areWhite Zimbabweans who have relocated toSouth Africa since the year 2000.[5]
TheLimpopo River is a large river which flows strongly during the annual rainy season, whenlichen and other plant species of the dry region come alive. Sometimes, it floods it's dry river banks. The low-shrub and thorny tree lands that surround Musina and thrive in rains are alive with animals in sanctuaries that offer experienced-only camping safari accessible by sand and rock road tracks. Access is generally good, with theN1 road from Johannesburg through Musina northwards being wide tar, as are most other roads in the area.
The link withZimbabwe atBeitbridge has become one of the busiest roads in the world and the busiest inAfrica, due toblack market importers from Zimbabwe and people looking for employment. This is mainly due to thousands crossing the border intoSouth Africa every day. According to the New York Times, in January 2009, Musina had a shifting population of about 15,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Zimbabweans, many of whom lived in a refugee camp at the showground or in the streets.[1]
"Musina" is theTshiVenda word for copper, derived from a root that meansspoil. This relates to the fact that copper "spoilt" theVenda's efforts to mine gold in the region, as they could not effectively separate the gold from the relatively insignificant copper.[citation needed]
Musina experiences ahot semi-arid climate (Koppen: BSh) with hot temperatures most of the year. Average annual precipitation amounts to 372 mm (14.6 in), and is highly concentrated in the summer months from October to April when severe late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms are common. Winter is extremely dry, with almost no precipitation, typically recorded in the driest months from June to August. Clear skies and exceptionally low humidity at this time of the year enable temperatures to plunge close to freezing at night, although frost is fairly uncommon.
| Climate data for Musina, South Africa | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 28 (82) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 27 (81) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 32 (90) | 30 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 19 (66) | 16 (61) | 12 (54) | 8 (46) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 14 (57) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 15 (60) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 61 (2.4) | 65 (2.6) | 42 (1.7) | 26 (1.0) | 12 (0.5) | 4 (0.2) | 1 (0.0) | 2 (0.1) | 15 (0.6) | 33 (1.3) | 55 (2.2) | 56 (2.2) | 372 (14.6) |
| Average precipitation days | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 55 |
| Source: World Climate Guide[6] | |||||||||||||
Media related toMusina, South Africa at Wikimedia CommonsMunicipalities and communities ofVhembe District Municipality,Limpopo | ||
|---|---|---|
District seat:Thohoyandou | ||
| Musina |
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| Collins Chabane | ||
| Thulamela | ||
| Makhado | ||