Mngeni River
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The Mngeni River (anglicised Umgeni), is a river in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. It rises in the "Dargle" in the KZN midlands, and its mouth is at Durban, some distance north of Durban's natural harbour. The name is meant to mean place of the Acacia trees in isiZulu, though other meanings have been proposed.[1][2]
The river is approximately 232 km long with a catchment area of 4,432 km². There are 4 large dams on the Mgeni, they are the Midmar Dam, Albert Falls Dam, Nagle Dam and Inanda Dam.
It is assumed that Vasco da Gama replenished his fleet's water supply at the Mngeni mouth on Christmas day, 1497, when he also named the region 'Natal'. The river then acquired the name "River of Natal". It was another 130 years before Nathaniel Isaacs crossed the Umgani to visit Shaka.[1]
[edit] Msunduzi tributary
A noteworthy tributary is the Msunduzi River, which joins it between Nagle and Inanda dams. Higher up its course the Msunduzi (or 'Dusi' for short) passes through the KwaZulu-Natal capital Pietermaritzburg. A famous downriver race, the Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place between the capital and Durban, attracting thousands of canoeists for the three-day event held in January every year.
[edit] Buffalo tributary
The Buffalo River joins the Mngeni some 17 km east-north-east of Tugela Ferry at .[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b du Plessis, E.J. (1973). Suid-Afrikaanse berg- en riviername. Tafelberg-uitgewers, Cape Town, pp. 277, 278. ISBN 0-624-00273X.
- ^ a b Raper, P.E. (2004). South African Place Names. Jonathan Ball, Jhb & Cape Town, p. 245. ISBN 1-86842-190-2.
[edit] See also
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