Potchefstroom is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (previously known as Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, by which name it was, and still is, famous abroad). It is situated on the banks of the Mooirivier (Afrikaans for "pretty (or beautiful) river"), roughly 120 km (75 mi) west-southwest of Johannesburg and 45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Klerksdorp.