The Boteti River (also Botletle RiverHelgren, David M. (1984) "Historical Geomorphology and Geoarchaeology in the Southwestern Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana" ''Annals of the Association of American Geographers'' 74(2): pp. 298–307, page 298Johannesburg Sheet 34, Edition 5, TPC, 1970
Series 2201, U.S. Army Map Service or Botletli) is a natural

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

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 Kal ...

. It derives flow from the core

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

through the Thamalakane River in Maun.

Hydrology

In the rainy season, the Boteti discharges to the Makgadikgadi Pans, bringing that area alive with seasonal activity and high biological productivity.Hogan, C. Michael (2008
"Makgadikgadi"
at Burnham, A. (editor) ''The Megalithic Portal'' In the dry season, the Boteti is particularly important to provide wildlife an area to congregate, since most seasonal ponds and drainages are devoid of water.Murphy, Alan; Armstrong, Kate; Firestone, Matthew D.; and Fitzpatrick, Mary (2007) ''Southern Africa: Join the Safari'' (4th edition) Lonely Planet, Footscray, Victoria, Australia
page 100
The Boteti flows southeastward out of the Thamalakane River swamp at

Toteng Toteng is a village in the north west of Botswana, Ngamiland. The town is the location of the oldest "directly dated evidence of cattle in southern Africa". Nearby towns are Sehitwa and Bobideng to the west, Tsau and Gumare to the north and ...

, then flows northeastward past Tlkaseoulo, over Ghautsa Falls, and then flows east past the villages of Makalamabedi,Windhoek Sheet 33, Edition 4, TPC, 1969
Series 2201, U.S. Army Map Service Muekekle, and Matima, and then at Kwaraga, it turns south past the villages of Phukumakaku, Khumaga (Lekono), Sukwane, Rakops (Jakops), and Xhuma (Khomo). It then flows past Lake Xau (or in a very wet year into and out of Lake Xau) and then heads east past the village of Mopipi (Madista) and into the Ntwetwe Pan. The Boteti stretches from

Ngamiland The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta (Okavango). It is gove ...

to the main

Boteti District The Boteti River (also Botletle RiverHelgren, David M. (1984) "Historical Geomorphology and Geoarchaeology in the Southwestern Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana" ''Annals of the Association of American Geographers'' 74(2): pp. 298–307, page 298

, where it is used to fill the

Mopipi Mopipi is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located close to Makgadikgadi Pan. The population was 3,066 in 2001 census. This village was named after a tree called Mopipi, which is commonly found in the region. This area has witne ...

Dam, which is important to the many

diamond mine There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

s of the area, particularly the

Orapa diamond mine The Orapa diamond mine is the world's largest diamond mine by area. The mine is located in Orapa, a town in the Central District of Botswana about west of the city of Francistown. Orapa ("resting place for lions") is owned by Debswana, a partn ...

.Breyer, J. I. E. (1983) "Soils in the Lower Boteti Region, Central District, Botswana" National Institute for Development Research and Documentation, University of Botswana, Gaborone, page 32, The diversion of the river has left many residents without an adequate source of

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

; moreover, they could no longer enjoy fishing and other activities in the river.

History

In the early and mid-20th century, the lower Boteti, below Sukwane, was a major grain-producing area, with over 2,000 ha under cultivation until 1980. However, the number and extent of wet years has declined, and the river was channelized below

Rakops Rakops, also known as Tsienyane, is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located south-west of Makgadikgadi Pan The Makgadikgadi Pan ( Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-easte ...

to increase flow to the Mopipi Dam.Scudder, T. (1993) ''The IUCN review of the Southern Okavango Integrated Water Development Project'' International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland, Switzerland
page 90
It flowed year-round before the mid-1990s, after which decreasing flows led to seasonal desiccation in some lower reaches.

References

{{coord, 21.2711, S, 24.7949, E, source:wikidata, display=title Rivers of Botswana

Hydrology

History

See also

References