Pungwe River ( pt, Rio Púngoè, links=no or ''Rio Púnguè'') is a long river 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 ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. It rises below

Mount Nyangani Mount Nyangani (formerly Mount Inyangani) is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe at . The mountain is located within Nyanga National Park in Nyanga District, about northwest of Mutare. The summit lies atop a small outcrop of rock around above the ...

in the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabw ...

of Zimbabwe and then flows southeasteastward through the Manica and

Sofala Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name ...

provinces of Mozambique. The Pungwe enters the

Urema Valley The Urema Valley, also known as the Urema Graben, is a lowland valley in Sofala Province of central Mozambique. The Urema Valley extends from the Zambezi River south to Sofala Bay. It is a typical graben valley, with a flat bottom and escarpments ...

, the southernmost portion of the

Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it ...

, where it forms the southern boundary of Gorongosa National Park. The

Urema River The Urema Valley, also known as the Urema Graben, is a lowland valley in Sofala Province of central Mozambique. The Urema Valley extends from the Zambezi River south to Sofala Bay. It is a typical graben valley, with a flat bottom and escarpments ...

joins it, and the river follows the rift valley southward. Large seasonal wetlands form around the Pungwe and Urema rivers in the rift valley section. It empties into the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about l ...

at Beira, forming a large estuary. It is one of the major rivers of Mozambique and often causes floods. BeiraFromTheISS

Flooding in Mozambique Púnguè River 2010-03-08

Tributaries

The principal left tributaries are, from upstream to downstream, the Nhazonia, Txatola, Vinduzi, and Nhandugue-Urema. The right tributaries are the Honde and the Muda.

Pungwe basin

Administratively, the Pungwe Basin covers parts of Sofala and Manica provinces in Mozambique, and a large part of

Mutasa District Mutasa District is one of seven districts in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. Mutasa District is located 30 km northeast Mutare and stretches up to the Honde Valley, which is about 100 km northeast of Mutare along a tarred road that bra ...

in Zimbabwe. A small portion of the basin in Zimbabwe falls in

Nyanga District Nyanga District is located in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. The administrative center is Nyanga village. The 2012 National Zimbabwe census reported its population to be 126,599 and being 52.2% female and 47.8% male. Geography Nyanga District ...

. As of 2003, the basin's population in Mozambique is estimated at about 1,104,000 people and that for Zimbabwe at 96,000 people.

Water supply systems

Beira metropolitan area in Mozambique receives its water supply from the Pungwe River. The 2004 water demand from the Beira/Dondo water supply, which included the Mutua and Mafambisse areas, was estimated at /day. The city of

Mutare Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 in the surr ...

is supplied from the Pungwe River through an inter-catchment transfer facility. The quantities transferred to are limited to a maximum of /second by the provisions of a water permit and system design. In addition, on 27 September 1995, it was agreed at a meeting of the Mozambican and Zimbabwean ministers responsible for water affairs that water could be abstracted from the Pungwe River to supply the city of Mutare, with an upper limit of /second. Consequently, a fixed abstraction of per day by Mutare city has been adopted as water demand from the Pungwe River. The Mutasa Rural District is also expected to draw water from the Pungwe pipeline to supply villages along its route. Climate change is predicted to lead to about 10% reduction in annual rainfall. This implies decreased river flow and available water for the Pungwe River basin, with possibly severe consequences for agricultural production. While the between-year variability in flow is not predicted to change significantly, within-year variability is expected to increase. This will worsen both floods and droughts.

References

External links

Pungwe River Project

NASA: Earth from Space
{{Rivers of Mozambique Rivers of Mozambique Rivers of Zimbabwe Mozambique Channel International rivers of Africa