The Kraai River (literally "Crow River") is a tributary of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

(also called ''Gariep River'' by locals) that flows near

Barkly East Barkly East is a town in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just south of Lesotho. The town lies at the southern tip of t ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

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 ...

The Kraai River originates in the mountains south of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and flows westward from the confluence of the Bell River and the Sterk Spruit at Moshesh's Ford at all the way to

Aliwal North Aliwal North (officially Maletswai) is a town in central South Africa on the banks of the Orange River, Eastern Cape Province. It is a medium-sized commercial centre in the northernmost part of the Eastern Cape. History Sir Harry Smith, then ...

, where it joins the

at . The river flows almost entirely over sandstone rocks of the

Clarens Formation The Clarens Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the uppermost of the three formations found in the Stormberg Group of ...

. The Kraai is fishable, containing

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

and

smallmouth yellowfish The smallmouth yellowfish (''Labeobarbus aeneus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Labeobarbus''. It has become an invasive species in rivers of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, such as the Mbhashe River. Introduction The Orange-Va ...

. In 1881 a sandstone arch bridge called the J W Sauer bridge was completed over the river. The bridge linked communities in the Kraai River basin with

. The Sauer bridge and the Loch Bridge on the farm Tyger Krantz, are now Provincial Heritage sites."Loch Bridge, Kraai River, Barkly East District"
sahra.org.za

Major tributaries

* Bell River and a tributary of the Bell, the Kloppershoek Spruit * Sterk Spruit, its tributaries are the Bok Spruit and Rifle Spruit * Joggem Spruit * Langkloof Spruit * Diep Spruit and its tributary, the Three Drifts Stream * Carlisleshoek Spruit and the Maartenshoek Spruit * Klein Wildebeest Spruit * Saalboom Spruit and its tributary, the Vaalhoek Spruit * Karnmelk Spruit

References

Rivers of the Eastern Cape {{SouthAfrica-river-stub

Major tributaries

See also

References