The Munyati River (also known as the Umniati River,
and as the Sanyati River for part of its length) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. Under the
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
n administration, it was officially named the Umniati, but its spelling was changed in 1983 to more closely resemble the correct
Shona
Shona often refers to:
* Shona people, a Southern African people
* Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today
Shona may also refer to:
* ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing
* Shona (given name)
* S ...
pronunciation.
The river rises in
Mashonaland East
Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province.
Geography
Districts
Mashonaland East i ...
, just north of
Chivhu
Chivhu (called Enkeldoorn until 1982) is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa.
Name
Chivhu's original name, Enkeldoorn, is a ...
, and approximately south of
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
. It runs approximately north-west and for much of its length it originally formed the southern border of Mashonaland province, and today is largely the southern border of Mashonaland West. The river is joined by the
Mupfure River
Mupfure River is a river in Zimbabwe with its source in Mashonaland East Province and crossing into Mashonaland West Province. It joins the Sanyati river which flows northwards and drains into the Zambezi river
The Zambezi River (also spell ...
(also known as the Umfuli). Below this point, the river is often referred to as the Sanyati. After a total of the river flows into
Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir (water), reservoir by List of lakes by volume, volume. It lies upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and ...
(the section of the
Zambezi
The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
between the
Kariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands tall and long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for and holds of water.
Construction
Th ...
and the Batoka Gorge), making it part of the
Zambezi Basin.
The river flow is highly variable, reflecting the sharp distinction in the local climate between dry and wet seasons. Between December and May it flows strongly and is about deep on the plateau, and in breadth (although less deep) on its lower reaches. During the rest of the year, it is much reduced and slower-flowing, usually only deep, and almost drying up on rare occasions during serious droughts; as last in 1984.
Gandavaroyi Falls
The biggest drop on the river is at Gandavaroyi Falls (Ganderowe Falls). As in
Shona
Shona often refers to:
* Shona people, a Southern African people
* Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today
Shona may also refer to:
* ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing
* Shona (given name)
* S ...
, ''ganda'' means "to throw", and ''varoyi'' means "witches", "with typical poetry and precision, the
Local people
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
have named the cataract after the picturesque practice they had of throwing reputed witches over the waterfall."
See also
*
Munyati
Munyati (formerly Umniati) is an estate in Midlands province in Zimbabwe owned by the Zimbabwe Power Company (a subsidiary of ZESA) . It is located about north of Kwekwe on the main Harare-Bulawayo road, which was about away from the village c ...
*
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
*
Wildlife of Zimbabwe
The wildlife of Zimbabwe occurs foremost in remote or rugged terrain, in national parks and private wildlife ranches, in miombo woodlands and thorny acacia or kopje. The prominent wild fauna includes African buffalo, African bush elephant, black ...
References
External links
Map of Zimbabwe from the University of Texas showing the river
{{Authority control
Rivers of Zimbabwe
Lake Kariba
Tributaries of the Zambezi River