River · South Africa
Vaal
The Vaal is the largest tributary of the Orange River and flows entirely within South Africa. Its water is used by about 12 million people in Gauteng province and the areas around it.
Picture credit: Ivan Fourie (CC BY 2.0) · Ossewa (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Vaal?
The river starts here: Drakensberg near Breyten, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
It ends in the Orange River near Douglas, Northern Cape.
Countries on the river: South Africa.
The story behind it
The name Vaal means grey-brown or dull in Afrikaans, and the old Khoekhoe name has a similar meaning. After heavy rain the river fills with silt and turns into a muddy torrent. The Vaal rises near Breyten in the Drakensberg and flows south-west across the high plateau. For a long way it forms the northern border of the Free State. Near the town of Parys it runs across the Vredefort Dome, the remains of a gigantic crater made when a space rock hit Earth about two billion years ago. Since 2005 the dome has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Near Parys also lies Groot Eiland, the river's largest island. In 1870, diggers found diamonds in the gravel of the Vaal at Klipdrift, today Barkly West, and a diamond rush began. The Vaal Dam, finished in 1938, stores water for homes, farms and mines.
Questions children ask
How long is the Vaal?
The Vaal is about 1 210 km long. Sources disagree quite a lot, from about 1 210 to 1 458 km, depending on how its winding course is measured.
What does the name Vaal mean?
Vaal is an Afrikaans word for grey-brown or dull. The name fits best in the flood season, when the river is full of mud.
Were diamonds found in the Vaal?
Yes. In January 1870, diggers found diamonds in the river gravel at Klipdrift, today called Barkly West, and this started a big diamond rush in the region.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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