Orange

Orange, or GARIEP, the largest river of South Africa, rises in the Kathlamba Mountains, in the east of Basutoland, and flows west, with an inclination to the north, to the Atlantic Ocean. It describes numerous wide curves in its course of 1000 miles, and separates Cape Colony, on the south, from the Orange Free State, Griqualand West, Bechmanaland, and Great Namaqualand, on the north. Area of basin, 325,000 sq. m. Its principal tributaries are the Caledon and the Vaal, both joining it from the right. Its volume varies greatly between the dry season, when it is not navigable, and the rainy season, when it overflows its banks in the upper parts of its course. Its mouth is, moreover, obstructed by a bar.