The Wilge River ( af, Wilgerivier, meaning "willow river") is a
tributary of the
Vaal River in central
South Africa. This river is important as part of the Tugela-Vaal Water Transfer Scheme where water is transferred from the
Tugela River basin to the
Vaal River basin.
The
largemouth yellowfish is present in the waters of the Wilge River, reaching quite a large size.
Course
Its sources are about 50 km northeast of
Harrismith, at the border with
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
.
In its upper course the river flows roughly southwestwards from its source, then westwards while bending northwards towards Harrismith, skirting the southern end of the
Platberg where there is the confluence with the
Nuwejaarspruit from the left.
Further north the
Elands River joins its left bank. Then the
Meul River and the
Cornelis River
Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis.
Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...
join its right bank. It continues flowing in a NNW direction, being joined by the
Liebenbergsvlei River from the left, while passing near
Frankfort and flowing northwestwards until it finally meets the Vaal at the
Vaal Dam further downstream.
Upper Vaal WMA 8
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Dams in its basin
* Sterkfontein Dam and the Driekloof Dam, in the Nuwejaarspruit - The Sterkfontein is the third largest dam in South Africa. Practically all the water it contains is pumped up the escarpment from KwaZulu-Natal. Built before the Lesotho Highlands Water Project was developed, this was a vital source of water for Gauteng.
* Fika-Patso Dam, in the Namahadi River (Elands)
Gallery
file:11 of 'History of the Boers in South Africa ... with three maps' (11191958004), crop2.jpg, The Wilge River and its tributaries on a map of 1887
file:The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 Q72297.jpg, A horse train fording the river during the Second Boer War
See also
* Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme
* List of rivers in South Africa
References
External links
{{commons category, Wilge River
Free State Region River SystemsThe Tugela-Vaal state water scheme as a bilharzia risk
Vaal River
Rivers of the Free State (province)