Olifants River ( af, Olifantsrivier) is a river in the

Klein Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ex ...

area of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Course

It has its origins in the Traka and Kalkwal Rivers north of the

Swartberg The Swartberg mountains (''black mountain'' in Afrikaans) are a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is composed of two main mountain chains running roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little ...

, becoming the Olifants River after flowing through the Toorwaterpoort, flowing west through

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865– ...

and joining the

Gamka River Gamka River ( af, Gamkarivier) is a river located in the Western Cape, South Africa. The name '' means 'Lion' and was probably named so by the San people (Bushmen). The river originates north of Beaufort West, generally flowing southwest towards ...

to form the

Gourits River Gourits River ( af, Gouritsrivier), sometimes spelled 'Gouritz River', is situated in the Western Cape, South Africa. The Gourits River flows from the confluence of the Gamka River and Olifants River and is joined by the Groot River, before flo ...

, then heading south to its mouth at

Gouritsmond Gouritsmond is a small South African tourist town in the municipality of Hessequa, Garden Route District, Western Cape Province. It is situated about 36 road kilometres south-east of Albertinia. Gouritsmond is located just on the west side of th ...

in the southern coast of the Western Cape.Gouritz WMA 16
/ref> The northern tributaries of the Olifants River rise in the

Great Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

to the north of the Swartberg Mountains, while the Olifants River itself rises to the east and flows westwards between the Swartberg and Kammanassie mountains to its confluence with the

. The southern slopes of the Swartberg Mountains are drained by the perennial Groot River, Kango River, Grobbelaars River, Wynands River,

Kansa River Kansa may refer to: * Kaw people or Kansa, a Native American tribe in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas ** Kansa language, a Siouan language of the Dhegihan group once spoken by the Kaw people * Kansa or Kamsa, a character in Hindu mythology, the rul ...

and

Vlei River A vlei () is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or even in the presence ...

tributaries, which flow into the Olifants River. The Kammanassie River rises in the Outeniqua and Kammanassie mountains near Uniondale and joins the Olifants River upstream of

Dams in the Olifants River

* Stompdrift Dam (capacity ), * Kammanassie Dam (capacity ), * Koos Raubenheimer (capacity ), *

Melville Dam Melville may refer to: Places Antarctica *Cape Melville (South Shetland Islands) *Melville Peak, King George Island * Melville Glacier, Graham Land * Melville Highlands, Laurie Island * Melville Point, Marie Byrd Land Australia *Cape Melville, ...

(capacity ).

References

Rivers of the Western Cape {{WesternCape-geo-stub

Course

Dams in the Olifants River

See also

References