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 or absence of water, according to the fall of rain or dryness of the season."Compendium of South African history and geography", by George McCall Theal, Edition: 3 - 1877
9
/ref> In terms of water salinity, vleis may be freshwater,

saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

, or

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

. Over time a vlei may degrade into a salt pan or clay pan, such as

Dead Vlei Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Sossusvlei Sossusvlei (sometimes written Sossus Vlei) is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. The name "Sossusvlei" is often used in an exten ...

. Ecoregions

Ecology

Vleis of various types can be of considerable local ecological importance, harboring many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

and migratory species. Most vleis are too minor to be granted recognition in the form of a name. However, some major vleis are accorded names, for example

Rondevlei The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill, suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The bird sanctuary covers approximately of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon. The na ...

and

Zeekoevlei Zeekoevlei is a freshwater lake on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. The lake is in area. The name means hippopotamus pond or marsh, with "vlei" being Afrikaans for a shallow minor lake, often seasonal, and ''z ...

in the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape ...

, which are permanent bodies of water. Indeed, Rondevlei is home to hippopotamus. The term is the basis of various biological common names, such as *

vlei rat African vlei rats (''Otomys''), also known as groove-toothed rats, live in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most species live in marshlands, grasslands, and similar habitats and feed on the vegetation of such areas, occasionally supplementing ...

, rodents in the genus ''Otomys'' * '' vleiroos'' (literally "marsh rose") * '' vleikuiken'' (literally "vlei chick") * vlei frog.

Etymology

The word ' is used predominantly in South Africa. It is an

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

word derived from the

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...

word for "valley" ('). Unabridged In Afrikaans, however, its meaning changed into that of the shallow lake. The Afrikaans and modern Dutch word for "valley" is '. The North American placename ''

vlaie In the Hudson Valley of eastern United States, a vlaie, vly or fly is a swamp or marsh. It also applies to creeks and areas in the vicinities. The term appears in place names in areas of Dutch influence, formerly New Netherland. Etymology The ...

'' is cognate with ', having the same Middle Dutch derivation.

References

{{portalbar, Lakes Intermittent lakes Afrikaans words and phrases