Daily sampling of suspended sediment in the flooding Orange River was carried out at Alexander Bay from late February to the end of May 1988. Coupled with simultaneous measurements of water run off, the suspended-sediment data have been used to calculate daily variations in sediment discharge from just before the floods started, through four distinct pulses of varying magnitude and duration, namely the Bloemfontein, Fish River, Kroonstad and Upington floods. During the 3-month period, 24,3 km3of water, 118,6% more than the mean annual runoff of 11,1 km3, was discharged, varying from 15,5 km3in March (a record) to 5,3 km3in April and 3,5 km3in May. The amount of sediment, transported chiefly in suspension, was substantial but was not in proportion to the amount of water. During March 64,2 × 106t was carried out to sea, the load declining sharply to 9,4 × 106t in April and 7,3 × 106t in May. The total sediment discharge for the three-month period amounted to 80,9 × 106t, which exceeds the mean annual value of 60,4 × 106t by only 40%.