Great Fish River

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Great Fish River
The Great Fish River in the Eastern Cape from Dubbeldrift Nature Reserve.
Location of the Great Fish River mouth
Location
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Indian Ocean
• location	Near Seafield
• coordinates	33°29′34″S 27°07′52″E / 33.49278°S 27.13111°E / -33.49278; 27.13111
• elevation	3 m (9.8 ft)
Length	730 km (450 mi)
Basin size	30,366 km2 (11,724 sq mi)

The Great Fish River (called great to distinguish it from the Namibian Fish River) (Afrikaans: Groot-Visrivier)^[1] is a river running 644 kilometres (400 mi) through the South African province of the Eastern Cape. The coastal area between Port Elizabeth and the Fish River mouth is known as the Sunshine Coast. The Great Fish River was originally named Rio do Infante, after João Infante, the captain of one of the caravels of Bartolomeu Dias. Infante visited the river in the late 1480s.^[2]

The name Great Fish is a misnomer, since it is a translation of the Dutch Groot Visch Rivier, which was the name of a tributary in the vicinity of Cradock,^[3] which at its confluence with the Little Fish (Klein Visch Rivier) forms what is properly called the (Eastern Cape) Fish River.