Sand (vet)

Sand Sand River, Sandrivier
The sand in the catchment area of ​​the Vaal (lower center)
Data
location	Free State , South Africa
River system	Orange
Drain over	Vet  → Vaal  → Oranje  → Atlantic Ocean
source	northwest of Ficksburg near Tweefontein 28 ° 40 ′ 49 ″  S , 27 ° 41 ′ 23 ″  E
Source height	around  1660  m
muzzle	Vet at Tierfontein coordinates: 28 ° 5 '33 "  S , 26 ° 24' 51"  O 28 ° 5 '33 "  S , 26 ° 24' 51"  O
Mouth height	around  1260  m
Height difference	around 400 m
Bottom slope	around 2 ‰
length	around 200 km
Right tributaries	Sandspruit
Reservoirs flowed through	Allemanskraal Dam Reservoir
Big cities	Virginia
Medium-sized cities	Senekal

The sand (English: Sand River , Afrikaans : Sandrivier ) is a river in the South African province of Free State . It is a tributary of the Vet , which is a tributary of the Vaal , which in turn flows into the Oranje .

course

The sand has its source northwest of Ficksburg in the Witteberge not far from the border with Lesotho . From there it flows northwards to flow westwards after the confluence with the Sandspruit north of Senekal . It flows through the 265 km² large reservoir Allemanskraal Dam Reservoir, created in 1960, as well as the city of Virginia and finally flows into the Vet southwest of Welkom and east of Tierfontein.

Historical meaning

On January 17, 1852, the Sand River Convention took place around 15 kilometers south of Ventersburg . The Boers and the British agreed that the Orange River Sovereignty , an area between Orange and Vaal and the forerunner of the Orange Free State , would remain British, that the Boer areas north of the Vaal would be respected by the British and that slavery would be abolished in the Boer areas . A memorial near the bridge of today's N1 over the sand commemorates this.

In 1988, Virginia s sand burst its banks and flooded large parts of the city.