Mogalakwena River

The Mogalakwena River (Afrikaans: Mogalakwenarivier) is one of the main watercourses in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is also a major tributary of the Limpopo River.

Mogalakwena
View of the sandy river bed in winter, near Magagamatala in northern Limpopo
Mogalakwena River is located in South Africa
Mogalakwena River
Location of the Mogalakwena River mouth
EtymologyMeaning "fierce crocodile", from bogale or mogale, 'fierce' and kwena, 'crocodile' in the Tswana language[1]
Location
CountrySouth Africa
StateLimpopo Province
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates24°16′25″S 28°58′37″E
 • elevation1,060 m (3,480 ft)
Source confluenceNyl River
 • locationSouth of confluence with Dorps River
Mouth 
 • location
Limpopo River, South Africa/Botswana border
 • coordinates
22°27′24″S 28°55′25″E
 • elevation
634 m (2,080 ft)
Basin size19,195 km2 (7,411 sq mi)
[2]

Course
SPOT Satellite photograph of the northern Waterberg showing at right the Mogalakwena River at 900 m. The villages alongside are Kabeane, Jakkalskuil and Ga-Molekwa (also called Galakwena) in Mogalakwena Local Municipality.

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] In 2016 the river had the least water in living memory, and villagers at Bokwidi had to dig in the sand to find water for their livestock.[5]

There are 8 dams in the Mogalakwena basin.[6] The highest concentration of hippopotamus in the Limpopo River is found between the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena Rivers.[7]

Tributaries
The Little Mogalakwena (or Motse) River near Marken, Limpopo, is a left bank tributary of the Mogalakwena

The upper or 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 is partially conserved in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve,[8] and incorporates one of the largest single ecosystems in South Africa for aquatic birds.[9]

The Mothlakole, Dorps, Rooisloot (right), Groot Sandsloot (right), Witrivier (right), Sterk (left), Mokamolo (left), Little Mogalakwena (left), Matlalane (right), Seepabana (right), Ga-Mamoleka (right), Pholotsi and Thwathwe are some of the tributaries of the Mogalakwena.[10][11]

Dams in the basin

Ethnic groups

The Ndebele people constitute the largest ethnic group in the catchment of the river, followed by the Pedi and Tsonga people. The Kattea, a little-known nomadic people akin to the San, used to live in the lands alongside the lower Mogalakwena. By 1905 however, they had been reduced to a few hundred individuals.

See also

References
  1. Dictionary of Southern African Place Names Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  2. Major rivers and streams within the Limpopo River Basin Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. Limpopo WMA 1
  4. Mogalakwena municipality: assessment of information (PDF) Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  5. "Limpopo villagers forced to dig for water". Mokopane. news24.com. News24. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  6. Mogalakwena Sub-basin Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  7. State of Rivers Report: the Mokolo River (PDF)
  8. "Nylsvlei Nature Reserve". Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  9. Hydrological and hydraulic modelling of the Nyl River floodplain (PDF) Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  10. Mogalakwena catchment (PDF)
  11. Walton, Christopher (ed.); O'Hagan, Tim (1984). Reader's Digest Atlas of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Reader's Digest Association South Africa. pp. 190–191, 194. ISBN 0-947-008-02-0. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
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