The Riet River is a westward-flowing
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Vaal River
The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
in central
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. In precolonial times the Riet was known as the Gama-!ab (or Gmaap), a name meaning 'muddy'. Its main tributary is the
Modder River and after the confluence the Riet River flows westwards to meet the Vaal.
The Riet flows about 300 km from the vicinity of the eastern
Free State town of
Smithfield and has a confluence with the Vaal River upstream from the
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagad ...
town of
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
* Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
.
[Morris, D. 2002. Driekopseiland and 'the rain's magic power': landscape and history in a new interpretation of a Northern Cape rock engraving site. MA dissertation, Dept Anthropology and Sociology, University of the Western Cape] It flows through the
Kalkfontein Dam
Kalkfontein Dam is a rockfill type dam located on the Riet River, near Koffiefontein, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1938 and renovated in 1977. The primary purpose of the dam is to serve for irrigation purposes and its hazard p ...
.
Water from the Orange River at Vanderkloof Dam is fed into the Riet River at Jacobsdal to provide water for irrigation. This has the combined effect of adding water to the river and lowering the salinity. When Vanderkloof Dam is spilling excess water from Vanderkloof Dam is transferred to the Kalkfontein Dam.
See also
*
List of rivers in South Africa
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Siege of Kimberley
The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try ...
*
Battle of Paardeberg
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley.
Lord Methuen a ...
References
External links
A Riet River Retrospective
Tributaries of the Orange River
Karoo
Rivers of the Northern Cape
Rivers of the Free State (province)
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