What is the longest river that flows through South Africa?

The Orange River is the longest river that flows through South Africa.

It rises in Lesotho’s Maloti Mountains, where it is known upstream as the Senqu, and then travels westward across South Africa before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international boundary between South Africa and Namibia near its lower course.

The Orange is important to wildlife and people in an otherwise dry region. Its water supports agriculture, settlements, wetlands, and animals along the river corridor. Augrabies Falls, within South Africa, is one of its most famous natural features.

The river is sometimes confused with the Limpopo because both are major southern African rivers associated with safari landscapes. The Limpopo flows northeast toward the Indian Ocean, while the Orange flows west toward the Atlantic. The Orange River is also central to the Kalahari region’s drainage system.