The Simiyu River is a river located in
Simiyu Region
Simiyu Region (''Mkoa wa Simiyu'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the town of Bariadi. Simiyu Region is named after the Simiyu River. The region is home to the Serengeti National Park, a U ...
and
Arusha Region
Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census).
Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. It flows into
Lake Victoria in the
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...
region. As one of the six main inlets to Lake Victoria, it forms part of the upper headwaters of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
. The Simiyu Region is named after the river.
Geography
The Simiyu river source is on the western slopes of
Mount Loolmalasin
Mount Loolmalasin (sometimes spelled "Loolmalassin") is a mountain located in the Ngorongoro District of the Arusha Region, Tanzania. It has a peak elevation of above sea level. It is, after Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, the third-highest m ...
and the
Ngorongoro Highlands in Arusha Region. It flows though the southern portion of the
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in ...
into Magu Bay of the
Speke Gulf
Speke () is a suburb of Liverpool. It is southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, and Widnes. The rural ar ...
of Lake Victoria. The Simiyu has two main tributaries entering from the right, the Duma River and the Komahola River, and one from the left the Maloho River.
There is considerable farming in the lower reaches of the Simiyu Basin, which causes runoff of fertilizers and pesticides.
The delta of the Simiyu is a marsh that starts just downstream from the town of
Magu.
Upstream from Magu just below the Ndagalu Forest Reserve is the village of Samilunga.
History
In 1875,
Henry Morton Stanley was the first European to sight the Simiyu River.
[Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, ]
Climate
There are two rainy seasons, the light one from November into January, and the heavy one from March to May, which result in 700 to 1000 mm of annual rainfall. Less than 10% of the rainfall makes it to the mouth of the river due to a very high evapotranspiration rate.
Hydrometrie
Average monthly flow of Simiyu measured at the hydrological station in Magu Mjini Estate, about 10 km above the mouth in m³ / s (1999–2004).
The Simiyu flows stimulate time-dependent, like most rivers in the region.
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Notes
{{Rivers of Tanzania
Rivers of Tanzania
Tributaries of Lake Victoria