{{Short description|River in South Africa}} {{Infobox river | name = Bronkhorst Spruit | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = Likely named after "bronkors" or "bronkhorst" the Afrikaans word for watercress ''(Nasturtium officinale)''<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames/SaPlaceNames_djvu.txt Dictionary of Southern African Place Names]</ref> <!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP --> | image = Bronkhorstspruit met wilgerboom op oewer, a.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = | map = | map_size = | map_caption = Location of the Bronkhorstspruit mouth | pushpin_map = South Africa | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= <!---------------------- LOCATION --> | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = South Africa | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Gauteng and Mpumalanga | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> | length = | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = <!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES --> | source1 = Witwatersrand | source1_location = East of Springs, Gauteng | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = {{convert|1630|m|abbr=on}} | mouth = Wilge River (Olifants) | mouth_location = East of Bronkhorstspruit | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|25|48|30|S|28|51|10|E|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = {{convert|1370|m|abbr=on}} | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = Delmas River | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }} The '''Bronkhorst Spruit''', meaning ''watercress stream'' or ''creek'', is a river in the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. In the 19th century it as was known as the '''Kalkoenkransrivier''' or '''Rhenosterpoortrivier'''. It is a tributary of the Wilge River in the Olifants River basin,<ref>[http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/rhp/eco/FROC/WMA4Olifants.jpg Olifants WMA 4]</ref> and it lends its name to the town of Bronkhorstspruit, situated mainly on its right bank.
==Course== Its sources are located in the highveld grasslands<ref>[http://www.dwaf.gov.za/IWQS/rhp/state_of_rivers/state_of_crocsabieolif_01/olif_eco_7.02.html The Olifants River System]</ref> of western Mpumalanga, about 30 km to the ESE of Springs, Gauteng. It flows generally northwards and its main tributary, the Delmas River, joins its left bank. Further downstream it flows into the Bronkhorstspruit Dam, situated in eastern Gauteng. Then before it bends northeastwards it passes by the Bronkhorstspruit urban area. It finally has a confluence with the Wilge River some 10 km east of the town,<ref>[http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/rhp/eco/FROC/WMA4Olifants.jpg Olifants WMA 4]</ref> at Premiermyn Dam, Gauteng.
==History== {{main|Action at Bronkhorstspruit}} When a group of Voortrekkers arrived at it in 1858, they called it the Kalkoenkransrivier, suggesting a breeding site of bald ibis, and on Merensky's map of 1875 it (including the current lower Wilge) is the Rhenosterpoortrivier.<ref name="coe1">{{cite web |last1=Coetzee |first1=Tobias |title=Vlakfontein: AIA-270716 (A Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment for I-Cat International Consulting & Trading (Pty) Ltd on a Portion of Portion 25 of the Farm Vlakfontein 523 JR, Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng) |url=https://sahris.sahra.org.za/sites/default/files/heritagereports/EM00010_JCJ_HIA%20R_V0.0_19_04_18.pdf |website=sahris.sahra.org.za |access-date=23 November 2021 |date=September 2016 |page=17}}</ref> In 1880 this river was the scene of the action at Bronkhorstspruit, a battle between a Boer commando under the command of Frans Joubert and British troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther. It was one of the first serious clashes in the early days of the First Boer War.<ref>Castle, Ian. ''Majuba 1881: The Hill of Destiny.'' Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 1996, {{ISBN|1-85532-503-9}}</ref>
== Dams in the river== * Bronkhorstspruit Dam * Premiermyn Dam
== See also == * List of rivers of South Africa * List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120306135413/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Research_Impacts/Benchmark_Basins/Olifants.aspx The Olifants River Basin, South Africa] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120610212125/http://www.ewisa.co.za/misc/School/oLIFANTS%20COVER.pdf Olifants River Catchment] *[http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/gis_data/rivslopes/RiverSlopeReportBX.pdf Channel Slopes in the Olifants, Crocodile and Sabie River Catchments]
Category:Olifants River (Limpopo) Category:Rivers of Gauteng Category:Rivers of Mpumalanga