Mariental

Mariental is a town of 10,000 population in south-relevant Namibia, lying on the B1 national avenue 232 kilometres north of Keetmanshoop and 274 kilometres southeast of Windhoek. It lies at an elevation of 1,090 metres. Mariental is attached to the TransNamib railway line from Windhoek to Keetmanshoop. The town and the encircling location are in a hot, arid area. Named via nearby Rhenish German Lutheran missionaries, the town become based in 1912 as a railway stop among Windhoek and Keetmanshoop and named after Maria, the spouse of the primary colonial settler of the area, Hermann Brandt. It was proclaimed a town in 1920 and a municipality in 1946. Mariental is home to a huge number of Nama-speaking people,

descendants of the early Khoi inhabitants of Namibia. The people of Mariental are recognized for their huge smiles and hospitality. The Hardap Dam, located 22 kilometres northwest of Mariental, is the biggest dam in Namibia. It components the town with water and controls the flow of the Fish River which flows in a southerly course beyond the metropolis. Hardap Dam has a ability of 320 million cubic metres and a floor area of 25 km2. Construction began in 1960 and finished in 1963.