Krom River or Kromme River ( af, Krommerivier) is a river in the
Eastern Cape Province in
South Africa. The river flows into the
Indian Ocean through an
estuary on the north side of
St Francis Bay, west of
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
. The Krom river flows in an ESE direction and is approximately 109 km long with a catchment area of 1,085 km.
The
Churchill Dam
Kromme Dam (old Churchill Dam), is a multi-arch type dam located at the Kromme River (sometimes spelled Krom River), near Kareedouw, Eastern Cape, in South Africa. It was established in 1943 and its main purpose is for municipal and industrial usa ...
and the
Impofu Dam
Impofu Dam is a combined rock-fill/earth-fill type dam located on the Kromme River, near Humansdorp, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1983 and its primary purpose is to serve for municipal and industrial use. The hazard potential ...
are dams on the Krom River. The latter is located near
Humansdorp. Presently this river is part of the
Fish to Tsitsikama Water Management Area Fish to Tsitsikama WMA, or Fish to Tsitsikama Water Management Area (coded: 15),{{cite web , url=https://www.dwaf.gov.za/Hydrology/ , title=Hydrological Services - Surface Water Home , publisher=Dwaf.gov.za , date=2008-09-03 , accessdate=2015-05-03 ...
.
Ecology
In 1995 specimens of the
Cape galaxias ''(Galaxias zebratus)'', a South African fish species
endemic to the
Cape Floristic Region, were found in the Krom River. Until then it had been thought that its distribution was restricted to the area between the
Keurbooms and the
Olifants River. Although in South Africa this relatively delicate fish is only classified as
near threatened, in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
species of the same genus were driven to
extinction by competing
salmonid
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...
s and other
introduced species of fish.
"Biodiversity, Alien trout, and the So what attitude"
Since the beginning of 2021 there have been a high number of bull sharks present in the river.
See also
* List of rivers of South Africa
* List of estuaries of South Africa
References
External links
IUCN Red List - Galaxias zebratusWorking for Wetlands - Krom River
Rivers of the Eastern Cape
Internal borders of South Africa
{{SouthAfrica-river-stub