Vaal River - Importance to industry and agriculture, History

River in South Africa; length 1200 km/750 mi; a major tributary of the Orange R which it joins SW of Kimberley; rises close to the Swaziland frontier; flows W and then SW along the border between Eastern Transvaal and Free State; dammed at Bloemhof.

This article is about the river in South Africa. For the Star Trek: The Original Series character "Vaal", see The Apple (TOS episode).

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 flows southwest to its conjunction with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape.

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.

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. The geographic name Transvaal comes from the name of this river, meaning "Beyond the Vaal river".