Durban South Africa Paper Example

Introduction

Durban is the largest city in Kwazulu-Natal province. Moreover, it is the third most populated city in South Africa after Cape Town and Johannesburg. Durban is located at the Natal Bay on the eastern coastline along the Indian Ocean, and it is the busiest seaport in South Africa. In 1835, Durban was established on Port Natal under Sir Benjamin D'Urban's governance. Durban was made a town in 1854 while it attained the city status in 1935. Nowadays, Durban is integrated into the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality that is acknowledged as a fundamental manufacturing center in South Africa. Additionally, Durban is a popular tourist destination characterized by golden beaches, hot summers, mild winters, scenic beauty, and cultural diversity. For instance, visitors get the opportunity to experience fascinating traditional Zulu dances, colonial heritage, and world-class game reserves. Hence, Durban is a cosmopolitan city and popular tourist destination that has a conducive climate and magnificent landforms.

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Most of the population in Durban resides along the Southern coastal shores and Eastern regions. However, almost 67% percent of the inhabitants live in informal settlements that have electricity, sanitation, and transportation concerns (Machen 33). Indian descent residents dominate Durban's population compared to the whites and Africans. Furthermore, Durban is recognized for its high Indian population within South Africa. Embumbulu, Umlazi, and Ntuzuma districts form the commuter suburbs with most African inhabitants especially the Zulu. Likewise, a majority of the whites live along Durban's coastline. The residents have retained their cultural identity through their diverse customs, ceremonies, and folklore heritage. Therefore, Durban's population is characterized by diverse cultural traditions from the African, German, French, and Dutch descents.

Durban's strategic location plays a crucial role in transforming the South African economy. For instance, its close proximity to Johannesburg and the deep harbor has provided a resilient economic base for the informal and formal sectors to flourish. Besides, Durban has several satellite industries such as Toyota and oil refineries concentrated in its Southern basin. The numerous oil refineries in Durban usually process the crude oil before it is transported to Johannesburg. Consequently, almost 30% of the South African personnel employed in the formal sector live in Durban and work in the satellite industries (Machen 30). Durban's harbor offers an entry point for industrial equipment, capital goods, and raw materials into South Africa. Similarly, grain, sugar, coal, and minerals are exported through the same port making it one of the major commercial ports internationally. For that reason, Durban's strategic location has led to it playing a leading role in transforming the South African economy.

Weather Conditions

Durban has a mean of 320 sunshine days annually. Moreover, it experiences humid summers from December to March that are usually hot while the winters are sunny and warm. Durban has light monthly rainfall conditions although the precipitation increases significantly during summer. Therefore, the ideal time for tourists to visit Durban is between spring and autumn period that has relatively low temperatures and less humidity. For instance, the mid-winter temperatures in Durban fluctuate from 160 to 230 Celsius (Time and Date AS para.1). Likewise, during summer the temperatures vary from 280 to 330 Celsius. As a result, the February and January are the warmest months in Durban. However, January is considered the wettest month due to the high rainfall levels during the mid-summer season. Additionally, the driest month in Durban is June while July is the coolest month. Therefore, any tourist planning to visit Durban must be conversant with its weather conditions to be able to carry the appropriate attire that suits the prevailing weather conditions.

Durban's cloud cover usually varies from partly cloudy to cloudy conditions most of the days. The average daily cloud cover is approximately 85% although the cloudiness varies from 66% to 100%. Furthermore, the daily temperature conditions vary from 210 to 220 Celsius. Nonetheless, the weekly average temperatures range from 270 to 160 Celsius (Time and Date AS para.1). Besides, the sunlight's ultraviolet index is often high, and it fluctuates from 10 to 7. The moderate sunlight ultraviolet index ranges from 3 to 5. Additionally, Durban's daily atmospheric pressure varies from 1024 to 1025 hPa. However, sometimes the atmospheric pressure might vary from 1026 to 1022 hPa. Similarly, the amount of rainfall recorded daily is approximately 5.0 mm, although the precipitation levels range from 0.4 to 10.1 mm. Finally, the wind in Durban usually blows from East to South East. Furthermore, the wind's strength varies from a gentle breeze of 12 km/h to a strong breeze of 26km/h. However, the daily wind gust is approximately 23 km/h. As a result, Durban has diverse weather conditions that vary based on its four seasons.

Climatic Conditions

Durban has a humid subtropical climate due to its location in the Southern Hemisphere tropics. Moreover, the cold and warm coastal currents blowing from the North-West to North-East direction have a substantial impact in Durban's humid subtropical climatic conditions. For example, the El Nino Southern Oscillation contributes to the high precipitation experienced during the mid-winter and mid-summer periods. Besides, Durban's proximity to the Indian Ocean leads to it experiencing dry and hot weather conditions due to the El Nino effect. Likewise, the La Nina phase accounts for the wet and cool conditions along Durban's shores. Furthermore, Durban is a sunny city with an average of 8 to 10 daily daylight hours. The mean annual rainfall in Durban is approximately 564 mm, even though its unpredictable deviations are common (Chaoka and Alemaw 270). Hence, the precipitation occurs mostly during the summer and winter seasons that are characterized by thunderstorms in the afternoon. Additionally, the Benguela and Agulhas currents that flow along the western shores and eastern coast respectively lead to a 60 Celsius difference in Durban's annual temperature variations. Therefore, Durban's geographical location in the tropical region has led to its varying humid subtropical climate.

The mean annual temperature in Durban is approximately 250 Celsius. Hence, the highest monthly temperature ranges from 240 to 250 Celsius that is recorded between December and March. Likewise, the lowest monthly temperature is roughly 180 Celsius, and it is recorded either in June or July (Chaoka and Alemaw 272). Additionally, the diurnal temperature variation in Durban fluctuates from 60 to 110 Celsius. June and July have highest diurnal temperature variations at 110 Celsius. The monthly sunshine hours range from 6 to 9 hours while the mean annual sunshine hours are roughly 7 hours. Moreover, August has the highest monthly sunshine hours at 9 hours. The average sea temperature is roughly 220 Celsius. January, February, and March have the highest sea temperature at 260 Celsius making them the ideal months for swimming and other water sports. As a result, the La Nina phase and El Nino Southern Oscillation have played a central role in modifying Durban's humid subtropical climatic conditions.

Vegetation

The grassland vegetation is the main vegetation cover found in Durban. Hence, the grassland vegetation is usually found in regions with a mean annual rainfall of approximately 508 mm. Besides, the grassland vegetation growing in Durban can be categorized into the tall grass, short grass and mixed grass. Firstly, the tall grass is usually found in the coastal belt and eastern region. The dominant tall grass species is Hyparrhenia hirta. It is characterized by a uniform sward and dense cover. However, in moist regions tall grass from the Cymbopogon genus are common. Nonetheless, the Hyparrhenia and Cymbopogon species dominate the vegetation in most high altitude regions in Durban. Conversely, arborescent succulents, thorn bush, and acacia trees have invaded the grassland in dry and low-lying valleys. The dominant grasses in such areas are associated with different species such as Chloris, Pennisetum, Setaria, Digitaria, Themeda, and Panicum (Powrie et al. 302). Secondly, the short grass is common in the Western Durban region. Besides, the region is devoid of bushes and natural trees. As a result, the short grass is dominant especially the Themeda triandra species. However, in some areas, the short grass is intermixed with various herbaceous plants. Finally, the mixed-grass grows in the Northern Durban region. Most of the Northern areas have diverse soil types due to the different geological features that have a considerable impact on the grass cover variation. Therefore, Durban is a grassland region characterized by tall, short and mixed grass cover.

Most of the low-lying regions with an altitude of 150 to 750 meters in Durban have deciduous and subtropical evergreen trees. The vegetation is found in the Western region of Durban that receives at least 70 mm monthly rainfall. The dominant deciduous and evergreen species trees include the Acacia pallens, Acacia rostrara, A. arabica, and Acacia xanthophloea (Powrie et al. 307). Moreover, an assemblage of tropical and temperate species such as the sclerophyllous and hygrophilous plants are found in relatively short ranges. Therefore, the evergreen and subtropical trees grow in successive intervals from the Southern to Northern regions characterized by decreasing rainfall.

Durban's Estuaries

The topographical and climatic variations have led to the formation of various types of estuaries in Durban. For instance, an estuarine lake is formed when a river valley is filled with sediments. Subsequently, vegetated sand dune separates the sea and the sedimented river valley forming an estuarine lake (Forbes and Demetriades 14). Most estuarine lakes are either temporarily or permanently interconnected to the Indian Ocean. Consequently, the estuarine lakes' salinity varies significantly. Evaporation and freshwater input are the primary factors that led to the high salinity fluctuation in the estuarine lakes. When the sand dune separates the sea and estuarine lake completely a coastal lake is formed such as Lake Sibaya. Some of the famous estuarine lakes in Durban include Ngane, Amanzimtoti, and Umgababa lakes.

An estuarine bay is characterized by a waterbody that has a surface area that exceeds 1200 hectares. The Durban Bay is a natural bay that is permanently connected to the Indian Ocean. As a result, the bay's water temperature is regulated by the Indian Ocean (Forbes and Demetriades 14). Additionally, the hypersaline conditions are rare in an estuarine bay that is linked to the sea. Therefore, the estuarine and marine organisms are common in the Durban Bay.

Most sand dunes are formed due to a combination of longshore sand deposition and low-speed flow resulting in temporary open estuaries. According to Forbes and Demetriades, during floods and high seasonal water causes large sediment removal at the estuary's mouth opening (15). Nevertheless, the fluvial sediment and marine infilling reoccur rapidly. The temporary open estuary is likely to be hypersaline during prolonged droughts. Moreover, the riverine and tidal inputs regulate the estuary's water temperature. However, the water body's temperatures are independent when a temporarily open estuary's mouth is closed. Therefore, freshwater, estuarine, and marine organisms are found in the temporary open estuary's bio-system. Umsimbazi and Ohlanga are some of the common temporary open estuaries found in Durban.

Geology

Durban lies...