Vaal River is one of South Africa’s major rivers. The river forms the provincial boundary between North West and Free State. It is the main tributary of the Orange River. The Vaal rises near Breyten in central Mpumalanga province. It flows in a southwesterly direction for 842 miles (1,355 kilometers), joining the Orange River 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Douglas, in Northern Cape province.
The word vaal means tawny in Afrikaans. It describes the color of the water. It is probably derived from the Khoikhoi name for the river, Heigariep (tawny or gray river). The Sotho and Tswana people called it the Tshetlha (yellow river). The Vaal Barrage was built in 1923 to provide water to the Witwatersrand area. The Vaal Dam was built in 1936 to increase this water supply. The Bloemhof and Grootdraai dams supply much-needed water to farmers. Major industrial areas, such as Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging, and the Witwatersrand, depend on the Vaal.
