The Metsimotlhabe River is the largest river in the

Kweneng District Kweneng is one of the districts of Botswana and is the recent historical homeland of the Bakwena people, the first group in Botswana converted to Christianity by famed missionary David Livingstone. Various landmarks, including Livingstone's Cav ...

of Botswana, draining the area that lies to the south of

Molepolole Molepolole is a large village in Kweneng District, Botswana. The people who reside in Molepolole are called Bakwena, who are one of the eight major tribes in Botswana. The Bakwena Kgosi (Chief), Sebele I was among the three chiefs who went to ...

into the

Notwane River The Notwane River (or Ngotwane River) is a river in southeastern Botswana. Certain sections of its course form the international boundary with South Africa. Its mouth is at the head of the Limpopo River. It has a catchment area of 18,053 square k ...

, in turn a tributary of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...

. The name "Metsimotlhabe" means "water sand river". The Bokaa Dam was built in 1990/1991 by damming the Metsimotlhabe River just south of Bokaa village. Surface drainage in the

sandveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

surrounding the Metsimotlhabe is limited to pans and dry valleys, which rarely carry surface water.

Sand extraction Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concre ...

from the riverbed has caused problems, since this lowers the water table and causes the surrounding vegetation to die. This is a significant economic activity in the District. In June 2012 a spokesperson for the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources pointed out that demand was high due to the boom in housing caused by the growing affluence of the country.

References

Citations Sources * * * * {{refend Rivers of Botswana Kweneng District Kgatleng District