The Vals River ( af, Valsrivier) is a

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 drainage ...

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 the Free State,

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 ...

. It is a strong seasonal river. This river of the Middle Vaal System is a good place for fishing, especially the local

Largemouth Yellowfish The largemouth yellowfish or Vaal-Orange largemouth yellowfish (''Labeobarbus kimberleyensis'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. This large freshwater barb is found in southern Africa.Impson & Swarz (2007) It has long been ...

Course

The river source is about 20 km southeast of

Paul Roux Paul Roux is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa that produces poplar wood for the safety match industry. It is situated on the N5 highway near Bethlehem, Free State. It was named after a well-known Dutch Reformed Church lea ...

and about 25 km southeast of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. It flows under the N5 road shortly after its source. In its upper course the Vals River flows roughly northwards, bending northwestwards across the

highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...

towards Lindley and meandering across the plain. In its middle course there are a number of weirs as it flows mostly through areas of

dryland crop Dryland farming and dry farming encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops. Dryland farming is associated with drylands, areas characterized by a cool wet season (which charges the soil with virtuall ...

s and its waters are used for irrigation. The Vals receives a number of small tributaries, the most important of which are the Blomspruit and the Liebenbergstroom. It finally meets the Vaal after crossing the city of

Kroonstad Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...

.Middle Vaal WMA 9
/ref>

Dams in its basin

Serfontein Dam Serfontein is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Boela Serfontein (born 1988), South African rugby union player *Divan Serfontein (born 1954), South African rugby union player *Jan Serfontein Jan Lodewyk Serfontein (born 15 A ...

, near Kroonstad *

Barend Wessel Dam Barend or (somewhat dated spelling) Barent is a Dutch male given name and occasional middle name. As of 2014, there are over 4,000 men in the Netherlands with this as their first name, and nearly 3,000 with it as their middle name. It was likely de ...

, by Kroonstad *

Bloemhoek Dam Bloemhoek Dam, is an earth-fill type dam located on a small river called Jordaan Spruit close to Kroonstad, Free State, province South Africa. It is part of the Vals River System. The Serfontein Dam, which is almost completely silted-up, releases ...

, in the

Jordaan Spruit The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to ...

References

External links

{{commons category
Free State Region River SystemsFree State residents worried about sewage flowing into the Vals River
Vaal River Rivers of the Free State (province)

Course

Dams in its basin

See also

References

External links