The 'Vaal River' is the largest tributary of the
Orange River in
South Africa. The river has its source in the
Drakensberg mountains in
Mpumalanga, east of
Johannesburg and about 30 km north of
Clarens in the
Free State at a source known as the
Ash River. It then flows southwest to its conjunction with the Orange River southwest of
Kimberley in the
Northern Cape. It is 1120km in length, and forms the border between
Mpumalanga,
Gauteng and
North West Province on its north bank, and the
Free State on its south.
Importance to industry and agriculture
Water is drawn from the Vaal to meet the industrial needs of the
Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area and a large part of the Free State Province. As a part of the Vaal-Hartz Scheme it is a major source of water for irrigation. Water drawn from the Vaal supports 12 Million consumers in Gauteng.
History
The name Vaal comes from
Dutch (later
Afrikaans), and means "pale", which alludes to the greyish colours of its waters, especially noticed during flood season when much silt is carried. Historically, the river formed the boundary between two
Boer republics, and later provinces,
Transvaal and the
Orange Free State. The geographic name
Transvaal comes from the name of this river, meaning "Beyond the Vaal river". This was in respect to the
Cape Colony and
Natal, which were the main areas of European settlement at the time, and lay south of the Vaal.
Prospectors on the Vaal River
See also
★
Vaal dam
References
★
State of the Environment of South Africa (SOESA), Annual National State of the Environment Report
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