Mtamvuna River is a river that forms the border between
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 ...
and the
Eastern Cape Province
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...
s in
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 has a wide mouth and flows into the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
just south of
Port Edward. The Mtamvuna river is approximately 162 km long with a catchment area of 1,553 km². The name means "the reaper of mouthfuls" because of the damage the river does to crops during floods.
History
Historically the Mtamvuna River is the northern limit of the
Pondoland
Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peop ...
region.
In 1552 a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
ship ran aground at the mouth of the Mtamvuna River and a group of local people got close to the sailors wishing to trade with them.
Ecology
The
Umtamvuna Nature Reserve is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
located close to the deep Mtamvuna River Gorge. Presently this river is part of the
Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area
Mvoti to Umzimkulu WMA, or Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area (coded: 11), Includes the following major rivers: the Mvoti River, uThongathi River, Mdloti River, Ohlanga River, Mngeni River, Sterkspruit River, Lovu River, Mkomazi River, M ...
.
Mvoti to Umzimkulu WMA 11
/ref>
See also
* List of rivers in South Africa
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
* List of estuaries of South Africa
This is a list of estuaries in South Africa. The list is in order from East (border with Mozambique) to the West (border with Namibia).
The South African coastline stretches for some 3000 km from Kosi Bay near the Mozambique border in the ...
References
External links
The Mtamvuna River and Adjacent Coastline
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast
Rivers of the Eastern Cape
Rivers of KwaZulu-Natal
Internal borders of South Africa
{{EasternCape-geo-stub