Nzhelele River

Nzhelele River
River
Name origin: Nzhelele meaning a falcon or an eagle that in ancient times followed elephant hunters and fed on the meat hanging in the trees to dry.[1]
Country South Africa
State Limpopo Province
Tributaries
 - left Mutamba
 - right Mufungudi, Tshishiru
Source Thathe Vondo
 - location Soutpansberg
 - elevation 1,673 m (5,489 ft)
Mouth
 - location Limpopo River, South Africa/Zimbabwe border
 - elevation 404 m (1,325 ft)
 - coordinates ZA 22°21′08″S 30°22′19″E / 22.35222°S 30.37194°E / -22.35222; 30.37194Coordinates: ZA 22°21′08″S 30°22′19″E / 22.35222°S 30.37194°E / -22.35222; 30.37194
Basin 2,436 km2 (941 sq mi)
Location of the Nzhelele River mouth

The Nzhelele River is a major watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The river's catchment area comprises 2,436 square kilometers.[2]

Course

This river collects much of the drainage of the northern slopes of the extensive rock formation of the Soutpansberg. Leaving the mountainous area, it meanders in a northeastward direction across the Lowveld, a wide plain that contains considerable biodiversity, including numerous large mammals such as giraffes, white rhinos and blue wildebeests.[3] It joins the right bank of the Limpopo River 33 km east of Musina.[4]

The Mutamba River, its main tributary, rises in the Buelgum Poort farm of the Soutpansberg, further west from the sources of the Nzhelele.[5] Other tributaries are the Tshiruru River, Mugungudi River, Mutshedzi River and the Wyllie River.[6]

Dams in the basin

See also

References

  1. ↑ Transvaal Indigenous Place Names
  2. ↑ Major rivers and streams within the Limpopo River Basin
  3. ↑ Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs) - Soutpansberg
  4. ↑ Nzhelele Sub-basin
  5. ↑ Soutpansberg - Geology and Geography
  6. ↑ Groundwater in the Limpopo Basin: occurrence, use and impact
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