The Orange River (officially called Oranje) is a river in Southern Africa. It is 2,160 kilometres (1,340 mi) long. It starts in Lesotho, and is the longest river there. For large parts of its course, it forms the border between South Africa and Namibia.
The Orange river basin extends into South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. The river starts in the Drakensberge Mountains. It passes only through the city of Upington: it does not run through other major cities.
The river is important for the South African economy.
Its water is used for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The river was named the Orange River in honor of the Dutch ruling family, the House of Orange,by the Dutch explorer Robert Jacob Gordon.
The River. The Orange River rises on the western slopes of the Drakensberg in Lesotho and courses westward for over 2250km to the Atlantic Ocean at Oranjemund. For most of this distance it flows through arid semi-desert landscapes, forming the natural border between South Africa and Namibia for the last 450km.
The Orange River ends in the Atlantic Ocean at Oranjemund, a diamond mining town in Southern Namibia. Oranjemund means “Mouth of Orange” in German and is how the town got its name seeing as it is located at the mouth of the Orange River