The Senqunyane River is a river of central Lesotho. The river rises in the Maluti Mountains in northwest Lesotho, and flows southwards and then westwards for 120 kilometres before joining the Senqu River (Orange River) in the southwest.Fitzpatrick, M., Blond, B., Pitcher, G., Richmond, S., and Warren, M. (2004) ''South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.'' Footscray, VIC: Lonely Planet The source of the Senqunyane is the meeting point of three districts: Thaba-Tseka District,

Berea District : ''For the city mentioned in the Bible, see Berea (Bible).'' Berea is a district of Lesotho. In the west, Berea borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on the following districts: Leribe District in the nort ...

and

Leribe District Leribè is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,828 km2 and a population in 2016 of approximately 337,500. Hlotse is the capital or camptown of the district. The district has one additional town, namely Maputsoe. In the west, Leribe bo ...

. It forms the border between Thaba-Tseka District and first Berea and then

Maseru District Maseru is a district of Lesotho. Maseru is also the name of the district's capital, and is the only city in the district and also the capital of the country. It is the largest urban area in the country, and therefore the only city. The city of Ma ...

, as well as a small section of the Mafeteng District that is separated from the rest of its district and located high in the Maluti Mountains, for much of its length. Tributaries include the Bokong River, as well as the Jordane River and Likalaneng River, which join the Senqunyane shortly before the Mohale Dam. The Mohale Dam, opened in 2003, is part of the

Lesotho Highlands Water Project The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is an ongoing water supply project with a hydropower component, developed in partnership between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa. It comprises a system of several large dams and tunnels thr ...

, diverting water to the

Katse Dam The Katse Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Malibamat'so River in Lesotho, is Africa's second largest double-curvature arch dam. (The Tekezé Dam, completed in early 2009, is now Africa's largest double curvature dam). The dam is part of the Leso ...

and hence to the

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

region in South Africa, including the cities of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. The river is home to the rare Rock-catfish ("Austroglanis sclateri"). The Semonkong Waterfall acts as a migration barrier separating distinct fish communities. The Senqunyane Valley is the site of a number of archaeological and rock art sites. The valley was first inhabited in the Middle Stone Age. The sandstone gorge with steep cliffs poses a problem to access. A notable bridge build in 2011 crosses the river near its confluence with the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

References

Rivers of Lesotho Tributaries of the Orange River {{Lesotho-river-stub

See also

References