The Klip River is a main tributary of the
Tugela River
The Tugela River ( zu, Thukela; af, Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , it is one of the most important rivers of the country.
The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Dra ...
in
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The river originates on the west side of KwaZulu-Natal, initially flows eastward and then swings southward. It flows into the
Windsor Dam
Windsor Dam was originally built to control flooding of Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal by the Klip River, but silt buildup quickly reduced its efficiency. The Windsor Dam was commissioned in 1950, has a capacity of , and a surface area of , the da ...
, and then into the larger
Qedusizi Dam
Qedusizi Dam, previously known as the Mt Pleasant Dam, is a composite type dam with a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) or 'rollcrete' spillway and earth-fill embankments. It is located on the Klip River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa upstream of th ...
before flowing east again. The river passes through
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to:
* Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
* Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States
* Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia
* Ladysmith, Virginia, United States
* Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
before joining the Tugela River.
For a brief period in the mid-19th century, a ''Klip River Republic'' was declared in the area by Boer settlers, before being annexed by the British.
References
* South Africa Road Atlas. MapStudio.
Rivers of KwaZulu-Natal
Former republics
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