, native_name_lang = , name_other = , name_etymology = Named after the

Common Eland The common eland (''Taurotragus oryx''), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus '' Taurotragus''. An adult male is ...

''(Taurotragus oryx)'' , image = , image_size = , image_caption = , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = South Africa , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= Location of the Elands River mouth , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 =

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 countri ...

, subdivision_type2 = Province , subdivision_name2 =

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , subdivision_type5 = Cities , subdivision_name5 =

Swartruggens Swartruggens is a small farming town in North West Province (South Africa), North West Province, South Africa that was established in 1875. Location The town is located by the Elands River (North West), Elands River, 69 km from the town of ...

, Sun City , length = , width_min = , width_avg = , width_max = , depth_min = , depth_avg = , depth_max = , discharge1_location= , discharge1_min = , discharge1_avg = , discharge1_max = , source1 = , source1_location = West of Koster , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth =

Crocodile River (West) , native_name_lang = , name_other = , name_etymology = , image = Krokodilrivier, a, Phalandingwe.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Crocodile River at Pelindaba, North West , map ...

, mouth_location = Near

Vaalkop Dam The Vaalkop Dam is a combined gravity and earth-fill type dam located in North West Province, South Africa. Its reservoir is located at the confluence of the Elands River and the Hex River, part of the Crocodile basin. The dam was established or ...

, mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = , basin_size = , tributaries_left = , tributaries_right = Koster River, Selons River, Hex River , custom_label = , custom_data = , extra = The Elands River ( tn, Kgetleng, af, Elandsrivier) is a river in the

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

. It is a tributary of the Crocodile River, part of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

basin.

Course

The Elands River originates west of Koster, North West Province, flowing northwards across

into the Lindleyspoort Dam. A few kilometers downstream from the dam wall it bends eastwards east of Silwerkrans and goes meandering in an ENE direction across the

veld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Bots ...

for many miles. Further east it flows right south of the

Pilanesberg The Pilanesberg (formerly Pilandsberg) is a mountain in the North West Province, South Africa. The mountain is an ancient volcanic structure, circular in shape, that rises from flat surrounding plains. It is formed by three concentric ridges or r ...

, barely 1.5 km from the outer perimeter of the ancient crater formation. The Elands continues flowing eastward to the

. Finally, about 5 km downstream, it joins the Crocodile River's left bank. Its main tributaries are the Koster River, Selons River and Hex River (Matshukubjana), the latter joining its right bank at the Vaalkop Reservoir.Vaalkop (reservoir)
/ref> There is much

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

mining, including its related elements

palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

rhodium Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring i ...

ruthenium Ruthenium is a chemical element with the symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is inert to most other chemical ...

iridium Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...

and osmium, in the Elands River basin, as well as the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

present in the ores. The only major city in the area is

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 20 ...

. Sun City is located between the Elands River and the Pilanesberg mountain.

History

This river is famous for the Battle of Elands River of the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought in 1900 between a force of 2,000 to 3,000

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...

s who attacked a garrison of 500

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soldiers who were posted at a supply dump in Brakfontein Drift. The battle took place at point close to the river along the supply route between Rustenburg and

Zeerust Zeerust is a commercial town situated in Ngaka Modiri Molema district North West Province, South Africa. It lies in the Marico valley, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It lies on the N4, the main road link between Sout ...

Dams in the river

* Lindleyspoort Dam *

References

{{reflist

External links

Overview of the Crocodile (West)/Marico Water Management AreaElands River Garden of RemembranceThe Siege of the Elandsriver Staging Post 4 - 16 August 1900Battle of Elands River
0 Crocodile River (Limpopo) Rivers of North West (South African province)