Mogalakwena River
| Mogalakwena | |
| River | |
 SPOT Satellite photograph of the northern Waterberg showing on the right the Mogalakwena river at 900 m. The villages by the river are Jakkalskuil and Kobeana, part of Mogalakwena Local Municipality | |
| Name origin: Meaning "fierce crocodile", from bogale or mogale, 'fierce' and kwena, 'crocodile' in the Tswana language[1] | |
| Country | South Africa |
|---|---|
| State | Limpopo Province |
| Source | |
| - elevation | 1,060 m (3,478 ft) |
| - coordinates | 24°16′25″S 28°58′37″E / 24.27361°S 28.97694°E |
| Source confluence | Nyl River |
| - location | South of confluence with Dorps River |
| Mouth | |
| - location | Limpopo River, South Africa/Botswana border |
| - elevation | 634 m (2,080 ft) |
| - coordinates | 22°27′24″S 28°55′25″E / 22.45667°S 28.92361°E |
| Basin | 19,195 km2 (7,411 sq mi) |
  Location of the Mogalakwena River mouth
| |
| [2] | |
The Mogalakwena River (Afrikaans: Magalakwenarivier) is one of the main watercourses in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is also a major tributary of the Limpopo River.
Course
This river flows from the eastern side of the Waterberg Massif northeastwards through a wide flooded plain as the Nyl River. After about 80 km it starts bending northwards and its name changes to Mogalakwena. Then it flows across Limpopo Province until it joins the right bank of the Limpopo River at the South Africa/Botswana border.[3]
The basin of the Mogalakwena is affected by a five-year rain cycle in which the river is virtually dry for five years, followed by another five years in which there is sufficient water flow.[4] There are 8 dams in the Mogalakwena basin.[5]
The highest concentration of hippopotamus in the Limpopo River is found between the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena Rivers.[6]
Tributaries
The southernmost stretch of the Mogalakwena River is the Nyl River, known for its wide flood-plain, also known as the Nyl pan (Afrikaans: Nylsvlei). The flood-plain now the site of the Nylsvley Nature Reserve,[7] which is one of the largest single ecosystems in South Africa for aquatic birds.[8]
The Sterk, Mothlakole, Dorps, Rooisloot, Groot Sandsloot, Matlalane, Seepabana, Pholotsi and Thwathwe, are tributaries of the Mogalakwena.[9]
Dams in the basin
- Glen Alpine Dam
- Doorndraai Dam, in the Sterk River
- Combrink Dam, in the Dorps River
- Donkerpoort Dam, in the Klein Nyl River
See also
- Mogalakwena Local Municipality
- Drainage basin A
- List of rivers of South Africa
- List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa
References
- ↑ Dictionary of Southern African Place Names
- ↑ Major rivers and streams within the Limpopo River Basin
- ↑ Limpopo WMA 1
- ↑ Mogalakwena municipality: assessment of information
- ↑ Mogalakwena Sub-basin
- ↑ State of Rivers Report: the Mokolo River
- ↑ Nylsvlei Nature Reserve
- ↑ Hydrological and hydraulic modelling of the Nyl River floodplain
- ↑ Mogalakwena catchment
External links
- Study to determine mine-linked water needs nears completion
- Limpopo River Basin - SARDC
- ZA007 Nyl river flood-plain