The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the urban eastern part of Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. The region extends from Alberton in the west to Springs in the east, and south down to Nigel. It includes the towns of Bedfordview, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Edenvale, Germiston, Kempton Park, Linksfield and Modderfontein. The East Rand is known as the transport hub of Johannesburg and includes Africa's largest and second busiest airport, OR Tambo International Airport. History This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef was discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold rush that gave rise to the establishment of Johannesburg. The large black townships of the East Rand were the scene of heavy clashes between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party before the end of Apartheid. As part of the restructuring of municipalities in South Africa at the time, the local governments of the East Rand were merged into a single municipality in 1999, called the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (ekurhuleni meaning "place of peace" in Tsonga). Despite having a separate municipal government, like the West Rand, the East Rand is included as the part of the Witwatersrand urban area. To this end, the East Rand shares the same dialling code as Johannesburg (011 locally) and the same metropolitan route numbering system as Johannesburg (and the West Rand). It is not uncommon for residents of the East Rand to work in Johannesburg proper and vice versa. References Greater Johannesburg Populated places established in 1886