Sand River (Free State)

This article is about the river in the Free State. For the river in Limpopo, see Sand River (Limpopo).
Sand River
Sandrivier
Sand River (middle right) on a map of 1887
Sand River (Free State) is located in South Africa
Sand River (Free State)
Location of the Sand River mouth
EtymologyNamed after an incident in which a wagon got stuck into the sand of its dry riverbed[1]
Location
CountrySouth Africa
StateFree State
Physical characteristics
SourceBy Tweefontein
 • locationNW of Ficksburg
 • elevation1,660 m (5,450 ft)
MouthVet River
 • location
Near Tierfontein
 • coordinates
28°5′33″S 26°24′51″E / 28.09250°S 26.41417°E / -28.09250; 26.41417
 • elevation
1,260 m (4,130 ft)
Length200 km (120 mi)

The Sand River (Afrikaans: Sandrivier, formerly Zandrivier[2]) is a river in the Free State province, South Africa. It is located close to the towns of Welkom and Virginia in the gold mining centre of the Free State. Its source is located close to Tweefontein NW of Ficksburg not far from the South Africa-Lesotho border (at 28°40′49″S 27°41′23″E / 28.68028°S 27.68972°E / -28.68028; 27.68972). This river is famous because of the historical Sand River Convention signed nearby, an important event in South African political history.

Catchment and tributaries

The Sand River is a tributary of the Vet, in turn a tributary of the Vaal. It is considered part of the Middle Vaal Catchment Management Area.[3] It is only dammed by the Allemanskraal Dam in the Willem Pretorius Game Reserve.

History

Main article: Sand River Convention

The Sand River Convention that led to the independence of the Transvaal Republic was signed in a marquee on the banks of the Sand River on 17 January 1852. A monument commemorating the ceremony can today be found on the banks of the river some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Winburg.[4]

On 25 March 25, 1900, during the guerrilla phase of the Anglo-Boer War, a Council-of-War led by the Boers that wanted to continue with the hostilities was held at a bridge over the Sand River.[5]

On May 10, 1900, the British fought a Boer defensive position at the Sand River during the Second Boer War.

In 1988 the Sand River burst its banks and flooded parts of Virginia town. In 1994 the Merriespruit tailings dam disaster occurred just outside Virginia, killing seventeen people.[6]

The river was named after an incident where a wagon got bogged down in its sand, and had to be unloaded before the journey could continue.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dictionary of Southern African Place Names
  2. ^ a b Raper, P. E. Sand River. Retrieved 28 October 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Free State Region River Systems – 2003 (PDF). Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (South Africa). March 2004. p. 28. ISBN 0-620-31794-9.
  4. ^ "Ventersburg – Lejweleputswa – Free State". Free State Tourism. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  5. ^ The Anglo-Boer War I: Review
  6. ^ Wagener, F (1997). "The Merriespruit slimes dam failure: Overview and lessons learnt". SAICE Journal. 39 (3): 11–15.