South Africa is poor in all water bodies, including rivers. Those water arteries that exist in this territory are small, and most of the year are more likely to resemble long waterless channels. However, here there are quite long and wide rivers. The largest of them are the famous Chukovsky Limpopo, the Orange River (which is not at all close in color to an orange) and Baal.
Translation difficulties
The name of this waterway was given by the Scotsman Gordon, who was part of a Dutch expedition. However, he did not mean the color of her waters. The Orange River was named in order to perpetuate the ruling dynasty of Holland of those years - Oran. However, both the English spelling of the dynastic surname (Orange) and Dutch (Oranj) also denote an orange. The translator, translating the name of the river into Russian, did not delve into the Scottish motive, so the river became Orange. The mistake has long been clarified, but the Russian-speaking people are accustomed to the name of the African river: riddles, rhymes and even a cartoon with the name of this river appeared. So they did not begin to change the official name.
River geography
The Orange River in Africa is the longest waterway (as much as 1865 km). For some distance, the river is the border between Namibia and other countries. The source of the Orange River is located in the Dragon Mountains, located in the border zones of Lesotho and South Africa. Moreover, the first springs of this river are located on the slopes of Mount Mont-o-Surs, 3160 m above sea level. At the same time, it is called differently by the mountains - Sinku. Only replenished with the waters of the tributaries, the Orange River gets the right to the familiar name. After all, it is after this that she becomes quite deep-water. By the way, most of the so-called tributaries can not be taken into account when calculating the filling of the Orange, because they are seasonal, shallow and very dependent on the amount of precipitation. Only Baal and Caledon make a significant contribution to the full flow - themselves (by African standards) are not so shallow rivers.
The Atlantic Ocean ends where the Orange River flows. An interesting fact can be considered that the confluence of the river with the Atlantic is the Namib Desert, which means “Skeleton Coast”.
Most of the "body" of the river is located in Namibia, South Africa and its neighbor Lesotho. At a distance of tens of kilometers after replenishment of water by tributaries, the Orange pleases the eye with breadth and fullness. However, having reached arid places, it is noticeably shallow. In the dry season, it is easy to wade her, while the woman does not even wet her skirt (if she is not wearing a ball gown).
In principle, the Orange River can also be classified as seasonal: its fullness is very dependent on precipitation. And the path that runs in the immediate vicinity of Kalahari greatly contributes to the strong evaporation of water. That is why the Orange River in Africa is not navigable.
Neighboring rivers
On the north side of the Orange River, the Nosob, Kuruman, Mololo and some other rivers, less noticeable than the same Limpopo, Baal or Orange, carry their waters through deserts and simply arid regions. However, first of all, these are drying beds, which become rivers only during rains, therefore geographers call them seasonal. It is not surprising - the path of these waterways passes through one of the most terrible deserts - Kalahari, where there is nowhere to get water for the reservoirs. Nevertheless, during the rainy time they manage to save everything that can survive in the desert.
Majestic waterfall
The world-famous African Victoria Falls, which is considered the largest, most beautiful and water on this continent. However, this is one of the most grandiose geographical misconceptions. The Orange River boasts a much more magnificent sight that belongs to the national park.
Augrabis waterfall was so called Finn by the name of Vikar. The name was somewhat liked by the locals - the Boers - and subsequently became international. Augrabis is a higher waterfall than Victoria, and more watery. The highest point, from where the water falls in the gorge, rises to 146 meters, and the dip itself reaches a depth of almost 200 meters.
The little-known waterfall is not difficult to explain: around Orange and Augrabis spreads the frightening Kalahari, almost always impassable even for well-equipped expeditions. Even in the hot season, when the Orange River turns into almost a trickle, getting to the cliff to admire the waterfall is deadly due to unstable and slippery stones. And in floods, the entire floodplain of the river becomes inaccessible due to rapid spills of water; even conventional roads turn into muddy mud flows. So enthusiastic reviews can be heard mainly from those who watched Augrabis from a helicopter.
River food
The orange river feeds mainly on rains, in connection with which it has a “flood mode” of floods. Spills are observed from November to the end of March, and they reach a maximum between mid-February and March. Local states are trying, with the help of the Orange and its tributary Baal, to revive the lands under surveillance. Since the 66th year of the last century, a project to create an irrigation system has been implemented, which should cover more than 30,000 hectares of land. The completion was planned at the end of the 20th century, but so far the final of the construction is not visible.
Although Africa is considered the most waterless territory on Earth, and there is a place for beauty, and rivers, and waterfalls.