Vaal Dam

The Vaal River 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 30 kilometres north of Ermelo and only about 240 kilometres from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. It is 1,120 kilometres long, and forms the border between Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West Province on its north bank, and the Free State on its south. It is the third largest river in South Africa after the Orange River and the Limpopo River and was established as the main source of water for the great Witswatersrand area after the gold rush during the 19th Century. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River in Deneysville just south of the border between Gauteng and the Free State. Vaal is a Dutch name , translated by the Griquas or Boers from an earlier Kora Khoikhoi name Tky-Gariep . Both Vaal and Tky mean drab or dull, which alludes to the colour of the waters, especially noticeable during flood season when the river carries a lot of silt. In the upper reaches the river was named Likwa , Ikwa , ilikwa , lekwa , or cuoa by the Khoikhoi, all referring to the plain it traverses.
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