Spatial Description

The Metsimaholo Local Municipality is located in the Northern Free State District Municipality.  The geographical area of the municipality is 1717.0680 square kilometers. It was formerly known as Sasolburg municipality. The three major towns that form part of Metsimaholo are Sasolburg (municipal head office), Oranjeville and Deneysville.

Municipal Biodiversity Summary

The municipality covers an area of 171709.6ha of which 45 % has remained as natural habitat. There are no formal land-based protected areas or RAMSAR sites in the municipality.

There are two biomes, namely Grassland and Savanna. Five vegetation types are found in the municipality. There is one endangered ecosystem in the municipality, namely Deneysville Highveld Grassland. There are also two vulnerable ecosystems in the Metsimaholo Municipality. These are the Eastern Temperate Freshwater Wetlands and Soweto Highveld Grassland.

The Freshwater Ecosystems in the municipality is characterized by one water management areas, namely the Upper Vaal. Five rivers run through the municipality and wetlands cover 13 % of the Metsimaholo local municipality.