The Mogalakwena River ( af, Magalakwenarivier) is one of the main watercourses in

Limpopo Province Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while th ...

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 ...

. It is also a major tributary of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

Course

left, 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 Mogalakwena Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Mogalakwena Local Municipality is Mokopane. Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following ...

. 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

until it joins the right bank of the

at the South Africa/

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

border. 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. 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. There are 8 dams in the Mogalakwena basin. The highest concentration of

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

in the Limpopo River is found between the

Mokolo Mokolo is the departmental capital and largest city of the Mayo-Tsanaga department, in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the fourth largest city in the Far North Province, after Maroua, Yagoua, and Kousséri. It is located in the Mandara ...

and the Mogalakwena Rivers.

Tributaries

Klein-Magalakwenarivier, laatsomer-2021, Limpopo, e

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 ( af, Nylsvlei). The flood-plain is partially conserved in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve, and incorporates one of the largest single

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s in South Africa for

aquatic bird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s. The Mothlakole, Dorps, Rooisloot (right), Groot Sandsloot (right), Witrivier (right), Sterk (left), Mokamolo (left), Little Magalakwena (left), Matlalane (right), Seepabana (right), Ga-Mamoleka (right), Pholotsi and Thwathwe are some of the tributaries of the Mogalakwena.Mogalakwena catchment
(PDF)

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

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.

References

External links

Study to determine mine-linked water needs nears completionZA007 Nyl river flood-plain
{{Authority control Rivers of Limpopo Tributaries of the Limpopo River