Sand River (Free State)
| Sand River | |
| Sandrivier | |
| River | |
| Name origin: Named after an incident in which a wagon got stuck into the sand of its dry riverbed | |
| Country | South Africa |
|---|---|
| State | Free State |
| Source | By Tweefontein |
| - location | NW of Ficksburg |
| - elevation | 1,660 m (5,446 ft) |
| Mouth | Vet River |
| - location | Near Tierfontein |
| - elevation | 1,260 m (4,134 ft) |
| - coordinates | 28°5′33″S 26°24′51″E / 28.09250°S 26.41417°ECoordinates: 28°5′33″S 26°24′51″E / 28.09250°S 26.41417°E |
| Length | 200 km (124 mi) |
  Location of the Sand River mouth
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The Sand River (Afrikaans: Sandrivier, formerly Zand Rivier) is a river in the Free State, South Africa. It is located close to Welkom and Virginia in the gold mining center of the Free State. Its source is located close to Tweefontein NW of Ficksburg not far from the South Africa/Lesotho border, at 28°40′49″S 27°41′23″E / 28.68028°S 27.68972°E. This river is famous because of the historical Sand River Convention, an important event in South African history.
The Sand River is a tributary of the Vet, in turn a tributary of the Vaal. It is considered part of the Middle Vaal Catchment Management Area. It is only dammed by the Allemanskraal Dam in the Willem Pretorius Nature Reserve.
The Sand River Convention that led to the independence of the Transvaal Republic was signed in a marquee on the banks of the Sand River on 17 January 1852. A monument commemorating the ceremony can today be found on the banks of the river some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Winburg.
On 25 March 25, 1900, during the guerrilla phase of the Anglo-Boer War, a Council-of-War led by the Boers that wanted to continue with the hostilities was held at a bridge over the Sand River.
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