The Serorome River is a river in the
Central District of Botswana, 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 mountaino ...
.
Geology
At one time the western Kalahari Region was a large, shallow inland lake, draining into the Limpopo through the Serorome Valley.
Later geological upheavals re-oriented the rivers in the region to mainly flow northeast into the Zambezi.
The Serorome valley is the exception, still leading to the Limpopo via a rift fault.
Climate
Today the river flows through relatively flat, semi-arid country with savannah grasslands, shrubs and trees.
The river flows occasionally in the rainy season, which lasts from November to April, and for the remainder of the year it is dry.
It flows below its confluence with the
Bonwapitse River
Bonwapitse is a river in Central 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 ...
due to run off in the Bonwapitse catchment.
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
visited the region in 1857, and described the Serorome as "... a lovely spot in the otherwise dry region. The wells from which we had to lift out water for our cattle are deep, but they were well filled."
Economic activity
The
North-South Carrier
The North-South Carrier (NSC) is a pipeline in Botswana that carries raw water south for a distance of to the capital city of Gaborone.
Phase 1 was completed in 2000.
Phase 2 of the NSC, under construction, will duplicate the pipeline to carry ...
pipeline crosses the Serorome valley, where there is a pumping station at from the
Letsibogo Dam
The Letsibogo Dam is a dam on the Motloutse River in Botswana, built to initially provide water to the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation.
The dam now supplies Gaborone, the capital o ...
.
The
Mmamabula
Mmamabula is a planned coal mine and coal-fired power station to the east of the main road and rail corridor in Botswana between Gaborone and Francistown and south of the Serorome River.
The power station would be near to the village of Mmaphash ...
coal field lies to the south of the river.
References
Citations
Sources
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Rivers of Botswana