Editing Vaal Triangle

{{wikidatacoord}}{{short description|Urban area near Johannesburg, South Africa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Vaal Triangle.png|thumb|Map of the Vaal Triangle region showing the geographic demarcation]]
The '''Vaal Triangle''' is a [[triangle|triangular]] area formed by [[Vereeniging]], [[Vanderbijlpark]] and [[Sasolburg]] about 60&nbsp;km south of [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Kim |date=2021-04-28 |title=Explore the Vaal Triangle {{!}} Joburg Guide |url=https://joburg.co.za/explore-the-vaal-triangle/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Joburg.co.za |language=en}}</ref> The area forms a substantial urban complex. [[Meyerton, Gauteng|Meyerton]], just north of Vereeniging, is also sometimes included in the complex,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meyerton |url=https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/meyerton.php |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.sa-venues.com}}</ref> and residents of [[Sharpeville]], [[Boipatong]], [[Bophelong]], the greater [[Sebokeng]] area (including [[Evaton]]), [[Three Rivers (Vereeniging)|Three Rivers]], [[Heidelberg, Gauteng|Heidelberg]] and [[Deneysville]] also generally tend to consider themselves to live in the Vaal Triangle.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} The area straddles the [[Vaal River]] and is a major industrial region, which is home to former Iron and Steel Corporation [[Mittal Steel South Africa|Iscor]], now ArcelorMittal South Africa, and [[Sasol]], respectively the [[steel]] and [[petrochemical]] processing facilities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://arcelormittalsa.com/Whoweare/OurHistory.aspx |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=arcelormittalsa.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Operations / Locations {{!}} |url=https://www.sasol.com/about-sasol/regional-operating-hubs/southern-africa-operations/sasolburg-operations/operations |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.sasol.com}}</ref>

== Pollution ==
Due to the heavy industries in and around the Vaal Triangle it has become infamous for its [[Air Pollution|air pollution]] and [[respiratory disease]]. According to an analysis by OpenAQ, the area regularly registers the highest concentration of PM2.5 particulate pollution worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bloomberg |date=2024-03-03 |title=What it’s like to live in the most polluted place on earth, the Vaal Triangle |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-03-what-its-like-to-live-in-the-most-polluted-place-on-earth-the-vaal-triangle/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref>
In 2013, research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) revealed that areas in the Vaal Triangle have persistently higher concentrations of air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, than in the rest of South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CSIR study finds annual standards for air pollutants in the Vaal Triangle exceeded {{!}} CSIR|url=https://www.csir.co.za/csir-study-finds-annual-standards-air-pollutants-vaal-triangle-exceeded|access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.csir.co.za}}</ref> For this reason, local [[Afrikaans]] speaking people often refer to the region as the ''Vuil Driehoek'' (meaning ''Dirty Triangle'') as a pun on ''Vaal Driehoek'' (the Afrikaans translation for Vaal Triangle).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-30 |title=Fossil fuel’s killer air pollution: South Africa’s death toll |url=https://energytransition.org/2021/03/fossil-fuels-killer-air-pollution-south-africas-death-toll/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Energy Transition |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Tourism and recreation ==
Nearby is the [[Vaal dam|Vaal Dam]], from which the massive PWV megalopolis ([[Pretoria]], [[Witwatersrand]] and [[Vereeniging]]) draws its water.<ref name="dawf-vaal">{{cite web|url=http://www.dwaf.gov.za/orange/Vaal/vaaldam.htm|title=VAAL DAM|publisher=[[Department of Water Affairs]]|access-date=19 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626050028/www.dwaf.gov.za/orange/Vaal/vaaldam.htm|archive-date=2019-06-26}}</ref> The PWV forms the urban heart of [[Gauteng province]]. The Witwatersrand is the name given to the area that comprises the Greater Johannesburg metropole and the gold-bearing reef along which [[gold]] was discovered in 1886.

The Vaal Dam is well-patronised by people from Johannesburg over the weekends and during holidays, as it provides extensive water recreation facilities some 70&nbsp;km south of the city.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nwu.ac.za/vtc/index.html Vaal Triangle University Campus - North-West University]

{{Gauteng-geo-stub}}
[[Category:Geography of Gauteng]]