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49-807: Quthing , The Orange River (from Afrikaans / Dutch : Oranjerivier ) is a river in Southern Africa . It is the longest river in South Africa . With a total length of 2,432 km (1,511 mi), the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean . The river forms part of

98-488: A direct transit of Mud Pond by canoe , within a tract of private property surrounded by public land within the Adirondack Park . In New York State, waterways that are 'navigable-in-fact' are considered public highways , meaning that they are subject to an easement for public travel, even if they are on private land. Brown argued that because he recreationally 'navigated' the waterway through private property, it

147-610: A gem-filled cave connected to the Orange River by a natural pipe through which the diamonds gradually enter the river. Other sites said to be lairs of the creature include the pool beneath the King George Cataract at Aughrabies Falls , which is also said to be a source of diamonds, and a large rock in the middle of the river itself. In this version of the legend, the Grootslang is also said to prey on cattle from

196-437: A small river may be navigable by smaller craft such as a motorboat or a kayak , but unnavigable by a larger freighter or cruise ship . Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that regulate flow and increase upstream water level , or by dredging that deepens parts of the stream bed . Inland Water Transport ( IWT ) Systems have been used for centuries in countries including India, China, Egypt,

245-551: A water-body is presumed non-navigable with the burden of proof on the party claiming it is navigable. The U.S. Forest Service considers a waterbody not navigable until is adjudicated otherwise. see Whitewater v. Tidwell 770 F. 3d 1108 (2014). Therefore, and public rights associated with navigability cannot be presumed to exist without a finding of navigability. 'Navigability' is a legal term of art , which can lead to considerable confusion. In 2009, journalist Phil Brown of Adirondack Explorer defied private property postings to make

294-573: Is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under keel clearance for a vessel. Such a navigable water is called a waterway , and is preferably with few obstructions against direct traverse that need avoiding, such as rocks , reefs or trees . Bridges built over waterways must have sufficient clearance . High flow speed may make a channel unnavigable due to risk of ship collisions . Waters may be unnavigable because of ice , particularly in winter or high- latitude regions. Navigability also depends on context:

343-575: Is derived the Afrikaans version Gariep , and translation "Groote Rivier". The early Dutch name for the river was just that translation, Groote Rivier, meaning "Great River". The river was named the Orange River by Colonel Robert Gordon , commander of the United East India Company (VOC) garrison at Cape Town, on a trip to the interior in 1779. Gordon named the river in honor of William V of Orange . A popular but incorrect belief

392-774: Is known in isiZulu as isAngqu. The Orange rises in the Drakensberg mountains along the border between South Africa and Lesotho, about 193 km (120 mi) west of the Indian Ocean and at an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The extremity of the Orange River inside Lesotho is known as the Senqu . Parts of the Senqu River freeze in winter because of the high altitude. This creates droughts downstream, which mainly affect goat and cattle production. The Orange River then runs westward through South Africa, forming

441-631: Is mainly for administrative purposes and residences for government officials. Quthing district is home to a diverse group of people who speak different languages . King Moorosi, the leader of the Baphuthi people, who occupied the Quthing District in southeastern Basutoland (today's Lesotho) in the 1800s, died on Mount Moorosi in 1879 in a war against the Cape Colony. Rock and cave art are to be found near Quthing, which were created by

490-505: Is not sufficient to prove that a waterway is a public highway in New York State. The US Supreme Court had also found that use of modern water craft insufficient evidence to support a finding of navigability In India there are currently three National Waterways totaling a distance of 2921 km. They are: It is estimated that the total navigable length of inland waterways is 14500 km. A total of 16 million tonnes of freight

539-466: Is obstructed by rapids and sand bars and is generally not navigable for long stretches. The river has a total length of 2,432 km (1,511 mi). In the dry season , the volume of the water in the river is considerably reduced because of the rapid run-off and evaporation . At the source of the Orange, the rainfall is about 2,000 mm (79 in) per annum, but precipitation decreases as

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588-559: Is that the river was named after the supposedly orange color of its water, as opposed to the color of its tributary, the Vaal River , which name is derived from the name ǀHaiǃarib "pale river" ( vaal being Afrikaans for pale or grey). Since the end of apartheid , the name "Gariep" has had greater favour in official correspondence in South Africa, although the name "Orange" has greater international recognition. In Lesotho, where

637-534: The Eureka Diamond , was found near Hopetown on the Orange River. Two years later, a much larger diamond known as the Star of South Africa was found in the same area, causing a diamond rush. This was soon eclipsed by the diamond rush to mine diamonds directly from kimberlite at Kimberley in 1871, although alluvial diamonds continued to be found in the Orange. Today, several commercial diamond mines operate on

686-521: The San people who settled in this area. Quthing lies in the southern part of Lesotho and borders the Eastern Cape province of South Africa . The Senqu River flows through the district of Quthing as it makes its long journey to the Atlantic Ocean . The border post between Lesotho and South Africa is called Tele Bridge . During King Moshoeshoe's reign he allocated this part of the country mostly to

735-463: The "present name is perceived to have a strong association with the history of colonial subjugation and has therefore no place under the current democratic dispensation." In South African folklore, the Orange River is often associated with the Grootslang , a mythical being resembling a giant serpent, which is often connected to the river's alluvial diamonds. The Grootslang is described as living in

784-454: The Baphuthi people led by King Moorosi. 30°24′00.4″S 27°42′00.7″E  /  30.400111°S 27.700194°E  / -30.400111; 27.700194 This Lesotho location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Navigability A body of water , such as a river , canal or lake , is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Navigability

833-523: The Clean Water Act. Therefore, the Clean Water Act establishes Federal jurisdiction beyond "navigable waters" extending a more limited federal jurisdiction under the Act over private property which may at times be submerged by waters. Because jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act extends beyond public property, the broader definitions of "traditional navigable" and "significant nexus" used to establish

882-646: The Dutch ruling family, the House of Orange , by the Dutch explorer Robert Jacob Gordon . Other names include simply the word for river, in Khoekhoegowab orthography written as !Garib , which is rendered in Afrikaans as Gariep River with the intrusion of a velar fricative in place of the alveolar click , Groote River (derived from Kai !Garib ) or Senqu River (used in Lesotho), derived from ǂNū "Black". It

931-756: The Free State, and discharges into the Ash River about 30 kilometres (19 mi) further to the north. The scheme became viable when water demands in Gauteng reached levels that could no longer be supported economically by alternative schemes such as the Tugela River-Vaal River pumped storage scheme , which used the Sterkfontein Dam , located near Harrismith in the Free State. In 1867, the first diamond discovered in South Africa,

980-715: The Mud Pond rapids." However, New York's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the lower court decisions, and sent the case back to the trial court for consideration of "the Waterway's historical and prospective commercial utility, the Waterway's historical accessibility to the public, the relative ease of passage by canoe, the volume of historical travel, and the volume of prospective commercial and recreational use." The decision by New York's highest court established that recreational 'navigability' alone

1029-663: The Netherlands, the United States, Germany, and Bangladesh. In the Netherlands, IWT handles 46% of the nation's inland freight ; 32% in Bangladesh, 14% in the United States, and 9% in China. What constitutes "navigable" waters can not be separated from the context in which the question is asked. Numerous federal agencies define jurisdiction based on navigable waters, including admiralty jurisdiction, pollution control, to

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1078-551: The Orange River (including the Vaal) extends over 973,000 km (376,000 sq mi), i.e. equivalent to about 77% of the land area of South Africa (1,221,037 km (471,445 sq mi)). Around 366,000 km (141,000 sq mi) (38%), however, are situated outside the country in Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia. Some of the earliest precolonial inhabitants called the river ǂNūǃarib , referring to its black colour, or sometimes just Kai !Arib ("Great River"), from which

1127-768: The Orange River (via hydroelectric power generators) to the Vanderkloof Dam and southward through the Orange-Fish Tunnel to the Eastern Cape. Eskom operates hydroelectric power stations at both the Gariep Dam and the Vanderkloof Dam. The hydroelectric power station at the Vanderkloof Dam was the first power-generation station in South Africa situated entirely underground. The towns Oviston and Oranjekrag were established to facilitate

1176-475: The Orange meets with its main tributary, the Vaal River , which forms much of the northern border of the province. From here, the river flows further westward through the arid wilderness of the southern Kalahari region and Namaqualand in the Northern Cape province to meet with Namibia at 20°E longitude. From here, it flows westward for 550 km (340 mi), forming the international border between

1225-493: The U.S. This statute also requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for any construction in or over any navigable water, or the excavation or discharge of material into such water, or the accomplishment of any other work affecting the course, location, condition, or capacity of such waters. However, the ACOE recognizes that only the judiciary can make a definitive ruling as to which are navigable waters.33 CFR 329 For

1274-562: The border town of Vioolsdrif . The Orange River has no large animals. It lies outside the range of the Nile crocodile , and although hippopotami were once abundant, they were hunted to extermination in the 19th century. The Orange River has a relative paucity of species diversity. Surveys from 1995 to 2001 in the Lower Orange River found 19 different fish species from eight different families. The two non-native species recorded in

1323-778: The citrus farmers along the Lower Sundays River would almost certainly have continued to suffer losses of productivity. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project was conceived to supplement the water supply in the Vaal River System. Water is delivered to South Africa by means of the delivery tunnel which passes under the Lesotho South Africa border at the Caledon River , and then under the Little Caledon River south of Clarens in

1372-493: The construction and operation of the new infrastructure. Irrigation in the vast area downstream of the Vanderkloof Dam, which has turned thousands of hectares of arid veld into highly productive agricultural land, was made possible by the construction of the Gariep and Vanderkloof Dams. Old established irrigation schemes such as those at Buchuberg , Upington , Kakamas , and Vioolsdrif have also benefitted because regulation of

1421-410: The country being discovered in alluvial deposits on the Orange. Today, several commercial diamond mines operate along the final stretch of the Orange River and around its mouth. Because of the lack of dangerous animals and high water levels during summer, the river is used for recreational canoeing and rafting . Orange River rafting has become very popular with many companies using their camps along

1470-467: The ebb and flow of the tide, and those inland waters that are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce while the waterway is in its ordinary condition at the time of statehood. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), approved 3 March 1899, prohibits the unauthorized obstruction of a navigable water of

1519-644: The flow from non-navigable tributaries in order to protect commerce downstream, [ US v. Rio Grande Irrigation , 174 U.S. 690, 708 (1899)], [ Oklahoma v. Atkinson , 313 US 508, 525]. Also, the Clean Water Act has introduced the terms "traditional navigable waters," and "waters of the United States" to define the scope of Federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Here, "Waters of the United States" include not only navigable waters, but also tributaries of navigable waters and nearby wetlands with "a significant nexus to navigable waters"; both are covered under

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1568-480: The flow is now possible. On the Namibian side of the river, Aussenkehr produces grapes with the help of water from the Orange. In recent years, the wine-producing areas along the Orange River have grown in importance. Irrigation in the Eastern Cape has also received a tremendous boost, not only from the additional water being made available, but also owing to improvement in water quality. Without this improvement,

1617-465: The international borders between South Africa and Lesotho and between South Africa and Namibia, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington , it does not pass through any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation and hydroelectric power . The river was named the Orange River in honour of

1666-474: The last stretch of the river, as well as the beaches around its mouth. Diamond mines also operate on the middle stretch of the river. During the temperate months of March and April, given good rains and the sluices of the dams being open, a canoeist (or rafter) can easily travel 30 kilometres (19 mi) per day. The lower reaches of the river are most popular, because of the spectacular topography. Commercial tours are available, and these expeditions depart from

1715-465: The licensing of dams, and even property boundaries. The numerous definitions and jurisdictional statutes have created an array of case law specific to which context the question of navigability arises. Some of the most commonly discussed definitions are listed here. Navigable waters, as defined by the US Army Corps of Engineers as codified under 33 CFR 329 , are those waters that are subject to

1764-426: The navigable water was conveyed to the state as part of the transportation network in order to facilitate commerce. Most states retained title to these navigable rivers in trust for the public. Some states divested themselves of title to the land below navigable rivers, but a federal navigable servitude remains if the river is a navigable waterway. Title to the lands submerged by smaller streams are considered part of

1813-657: The property through which the water flows and there is no 'public right' to enter upon private property based on the mere presence of water. The scope of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority was granted under the Federal Power Act, 1941 (16 U.S.C 791). Such authority is based on congressional authority to regulate commerce; it is not based exclusively on title to the riverbed [16 U.S.C. 796(8)] or even navigability. Therefore, FERC's permitting authority extends to

1862-555: The province and Namibia's ǁKaras Region . On the border, the river passes the town of Vioolsdrif , the main border post between South Africa and Namibia. In the last 800 km (500 mi) of its course, the Orange receives many intermittent streams (such as the Fish River ), and several large wadis lead into it. In this section, the Namib Desert terminates on the north bank of the river, so under normal circumstances,

1911-406: The purposes of transferring property title into public property, the definition of a Navigable waterways closely follows 33 CFR 329. For the purpose of establishing which river is public and therefore state-owned, what is navigable is a constitutional question defined by Federal case law. (See PPL Montana v Montana (2012).) If a river was considered navigable at the time of statehood, the land below

1960-399: The river flows westward; at its mouth, the rainfall is less than 50 mm (2.0 in) per year. The factors that support evaporation, though, tend to increase in a westerly direction. In the wet season (summer), the Orange river becomes a brown coloured torrent. The huge mass of sediment carried constitutes a long-term threat to engineering projects on the river. The total catchment of

2009-530: The river from which to operate. The most popular trips are four-day and six-day river trips that take place either along the gorge below the Augrabies Falls or along the Richtersveld area. The Orange River Project (ORP) was one of the largest and most imaginative projects of its kind in South Africa. It was constructed by Hendrik Verwoerd 's government at the height of the apartheid era. The ORP

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2058-497: The river rises, it is known as the Senqu River, derived from the original Khoemana name. The Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee has advertised its intention to consider a name change from the colonial name, for that portion of the river that forms the border between the Eastern Cape and the Free State, with suggestions being IGqili or Senqu . The advertisement placed in the Aliwal Weekblad newspaper states that

2107-572: The river's banks. As the collection point for the majority of South Africa's water, the Orange River plays a major role in supporting agriculture, industry, and mining. To assist in this, two large water schemes have been created, the Orange River Project and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project . Historically, the river played an important role in the South African diamond rush , with the first diamonds in

2156-479: The scope of authority under the Act are still ambiguously defined and therefore open to judicial interpretation as indicated in two U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Carabell v. United States and Rapanos v. United States . However, because authority under the Act is limited to protecting only navigable waters, jurisdiction over these smaller creeks is not absolute and may require just compensation to property owners when invoked to protect downstream waters. Finally,

2205-520: The south-western boundary of the Free State province . In this section, the river flows first into the Gariep Dam and later into the Vanderkloof Dam . From the border of Lesotho to below the Vanderkloof Dam, the river bed is deeply incised. Further downstream, the land is flatter, and the river is used extensively for irrigation. At the western point of the Free State, southwest of Kimberley ,

2254-525: The surveys were Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis mossambicus , the latter of which had increased rapidly in abundance since the early 1980s. Another exotic species, rainbow trout , is found in the river headwaters in Lesotho. Seven species are endemic to the Vaal-Orange River system: Quthing Moyeni is divided into Lower Moyeni and Upper Moyeni. Lower Moyeni is largely used for commercial and residential purposes. Upper Moyeni

2303-656: The volume of water added by these tributaries is negligible. Here, the bed of the river is once again deeply incised. The Augrabies Falls are located on this section of the Orange, where the river descends 122 m (400 ft) in a course of 26 km (16 mi). The Orange empties into the Atlantic Ocean between the small towns of Oranjemund (meaning "Orange mouth ") in Namibia and Alexander Bay in South Africa, about equidistant between Walvis Bay and Cape Town . Some 33 km (21 mi) from its mouth, it

2352-581: Was built to exploit the waters of the Orange River—which, without the Vaal River, represents some 14.1% of the total runoff in South Africa—and in the process, to satisfy an increasing demand for water. The main objectives of the project were: The Gariep Dam near Colesberg is the main storage structure within the Orange River. From here, the water is supplied in two directions, westward along

2401-497: Was therefore a public highway. He prevailed in the trial court when sued for trespassing by the owners of the property, a decision upheld by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division , Third Department. The land was found "subject to a public right of navigation, including the right to portage on plaintiff's land where absolutely necessary for the limited purpose of avoiding obstacles to navigation such as

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