The

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

between

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

is divided into two segments, separated by the kingdom of

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

. The northern segment, which is long, runs north–south along the

Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, Rivombo Mountains (), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa ...

from

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

to Eswatini. The southern segment, which is long, runs east–west across

Maputaland Maputaland is a natural region of Southern Africa. It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of Mozambique. The bi ...

from Eswatini to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

Geography

The

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with Zimbabwe is located at Crooks' Corner, in 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 mou ...

either at or very close to its confluence with the

Luvuvhu River The Levubu River (; ) is located in the northern Limpopo province of South Africa. Some of its tributaries, such as the Mutshindudi River and Mutale River rise in the Soutpansberg Mountains. The Levubu flows for about 200 km through a di ...

. The border runs in a straight line from this tripoint to the

Shingwedzi River The Shingwedzi River (; ; ; ) is a river in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is a left hand tributary of the Olifants River (Limpopo), Olifants River ''(Rio dos Elefantes)'' and the northernmost river of its catchm ...

, and then along a series of straight lines joining beacons generally along the top of the eastern slope of the

. It crosses the Olifants,

Sabie Sabie is a forestry town situated on the banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The name Sabie is derived from the Xitsonga language word "Sava" which means "Sand" because of the rich Sand in the area . The word Sava was moderniz ...

and

Komati Komati may refer to: * Komati caste, is an Indian trading community primarily found in central and south India * Komati Power Station, a coal-fired power plant in South Africa Geography *Komati River, a River in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozam ...

rivers. This segment of the border terminates at the northern Eswatini tripoint at Mpundweni Beacon near

Namaacha Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its Colonialism, colonial Church (building), church and for its waterfall. ...

. The southern Eswatini tripoint is situated at Abercorn Drift in the Usutu River (Maputo River), where the Mozambique–Eswatini border along the Lebombo Mountains meets the river. From here the border follows the Usuthu to its former confluence with the

Pongola River The Phongolo River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through oPhongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows nort ...

; the location of the confluence has changed since the border was demarcated. The border then runs in an easterly direction along straight lines joining beacons generally at the same latitude as the Usutu-Pongola confluence (approximately 26° 52′ South). It meets the Indian Ocean below Monte Ouro peak, just to the south of

Ponta do Ouro Ponta do Ouro (also Ponta d'Ouro) is a town in the extreme south of Mozambique, lying on the Mozambique Channel, south of Maputo and just north of the border with South Africa. The name is Portuguese for "tip of gold", referring to a cape at the ...

Crossings

There are four official border crossings, three in the northern segment and one in the southern segment. The main crossing is Ressano Garcia/Lebombo where the

Maputo Corridor The Maputo Corridor is a major trade corridor which connects the Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa with Maputo, which is a port and the capital of Mozambique. The corridor comprises roads - including the N4 toll road (from ...

highway and railway cross the border. The crossings are listed from north to south in the table below. The Mozambican and South African Governments announced on 18 March 2018 that the Ressano Garcia border would open 24 hours starting in April of that same year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mozambique-South Africa border Borders of South Africa International borders