The Suikerbosrand River ( af, Suikerbosrandrivier) is a tributary 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. ...
that flows from
Leandra
''Leandra'' is a genus of plants in the family Melastomataceae.
Species include:
* ''Leandra pastazana'' Wurdack
* ''Leandra subseriata
''Miconia subseriata'' is a species of plant in the family Melastomataceae
Melastomataceae is a famil ...
in
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
, westwards through
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
to
Vereeniging
Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly si ...
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 ...
. Its mouth is on the northern banks of the Vaal on the Gauteng /
Free State border in
Three Rivers.
Ecology and water quality
The Suikerbosrand is impacted by the poor water quality of its main tributary, the
Blesbokspruit
The Blesbokspruit is a river in South Africa that originates north of Daveyton, Gauteng, from where it runs south and then west past the towns of Springs, Nigel and Heidelberg before joining the Suikerbosrand River, a tributary of the Vaal River ...
; this is due to
terrestrial runoff,
point source pollution
A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries (such as nonpoint source or area source) ...
and mine water drainage.
Tributaries
*
Blesbokspruit
The Blesbokspruit is a river in South Africa that originates north of Daveyton, Gauteng, from where it runs south and then west past the towns of Springs, Nigel and Heidelberg before joining the Suikerbosrand River, a tributary of the Vaal River ...
* Boesmanspruit
* Osspruit
References
Rivers of Gauteng
Rivers of Mpumalanga
Coordinates on Wikidata
{{SouthAfrica-river-stub