The abundance of water produces an unexpected swathe of green amidst the barren plains and is known as the "Oasis of the Kalahari".

The Kuruman River, which is dry except for flash floods after heavy rain, is named after the town.

It is set out on the Ghaap Plateau and receives its water source from a spring called "The Eye" which rises in a cave in the semidesert thornveld area in the Kalahari region.

Kuruman is the main town in the area and the spring gives about 20 to 30 million litres of water daily to approximately 10 000 inhabitants.

Minerals mined in Kuruman include manganese, iron ore, tiger's eye and crocidolite.

[8] Kuruman was home to local author and Sanusi or Zulu traditional healer, Credo Mutwa.

[citation needed] Philip Hazel, the British computer programmer, emigrated to Kuruman with his family after WWII; his father worked in the offices of an asbestos-mining company.

[12][circular reference] This society was founded in Cape Town and its membership was open to include all people sharing the same values of the Christian faith.