09-Mar-2002 -- The Orange River is one of South Africa’s major
rivers, crossing almost the whole country from east to west. It
rises in the mountains of Lesotho, divides the Free State from
the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape, and further west it
forms the border between South Africa and Namibia, before
exiting to the Atlantic Ocean between Alexander Bay and
Oranjemund. Along the way it gathers in the waters of many other
rivers, including the Caledon and the Vaal rivers. This river
picks up large quantities of silt, much of it the red-orange
sands of the Kalahari in the Northern Cape, hence the name given
by the Settlers. The Orange River is also known as the Gariep,
meaning “great river” in the San language. Virtually at the
point where the Free State, the Northern Cape and the Eastern
Cape meet is the Gariep dam, constructed years ago as part of an
ambitious project to provide water to the dry Eastern Cape. The
Orange-Fish Tunnel is possibly the longest underground water
tunnel in the world, with a tota