| Groot Marico | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa North West#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -25.588°N 26.401°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North West |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ngaka Modiri Molema |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Ramotshere Moiloa |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 36.17 |
| Population Total: | 3384 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 86.8% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 1.2% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 2.0% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 8.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 1.1% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Tswana |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 81.5% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 10.8% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | English |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 3.8% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 3.9% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 2850 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Website: | www.marico.co.za |
Groot Marico is a hamlet on the N4 road in the North West Province of South Africa. The economy relies heavily on agriculture, mining and tourism. Groot Marico is named after the Marico River.[2]
The topography comprises dry bushveld with a climate that is ideal for cattle, maize, citrus fruit and tobacco. Open pit quarries in the area extract marble, slate and andalusite, with prospects of large-scale nickel mining on the banks of the Groot Marico river as well as the majority of the farms surrounding the hamlet having sparked a successful regional petition against such development. In 2016 a new diamond prospecting application was initiated,[3] bringing a new round of local community objections and petitioning.
The town was formed by the Voortrekkers in the 1850s and was only proclaimed in 1948.
The word "Marico" was made famous in South Africa by Herman Charles Bosman's writings of this area and later re-enactments of these tales by actor Patrick Mynhardt. Bosman described the area thus:
At least part of Bosman's musings may have been inspired by sips of the mampoer for which Groot Marico is infamous.
In 2010, the farms surrounding Groot Marico were among the last in South Africa to still be connected through party lines to a manual telephone exchange, which require callers to ask an operator to connect them to other telephone lines by pushing jacks into slots.
Groot Marico is the smallest town in South Africa that host an annual arts festival as well as a mountain bike race.