The Thuli River, former name Tuli River, is a major tributary of the

Shashe River The Shashe River (or Shashi River) is a major left-bank tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe. It rises northwest of Francistown, Botswana and flows into the Limpopo River where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa meet.Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It rises near Matopo Mission,

Matobo District Matobo District is a district of the Province Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by Sou ...

, and flows into the Shashe River near Tuli village.

Hydrology

The Thuli is an ephemeral river, with declining annual unit runoff. Major tributaries of the Thuli River include the Mtshabezi, Mtshelele, Sengezane river and Mwewe Rivers. The Thuli River below Thuli-Makwe Dam is a sand filled channel, with alluvial

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

s in the river channel.Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.

Towns along the river

The Thuli River passes through no major settlements, only the following business centres: * Freda Mine *

Guyu The traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar divide a year into 24 solar terms. ''Gǔyǔ'', ''Kokuu'', ''Gogu'', or ''Cốc vũ'' is the 6th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 30° and ends when it reaches the ...

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

* Chelesa, Zimbabwe engezane

Bridges and crossings

There are five main bridges over the Mzingwane River: * Bridge on Old Gwanda Road, between Matombo Mission and Blanket Mine. * Bridge on

Gwanda Gwanda is a town in Zimbabwe. It is the capital of the province of Matabeleland South, one of the ten administrative provinces in the country. It is also the district capital of Gwanda District, one of the seven administrative districts in t ...

Kezi Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe See also * KEZI Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe Khezi is a village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South province in zimbabwe,https://www.mindat.org/feature-888965.html located ...

road, below Thuli-Makwe Dam. * Elliot Bridge, upstream of

. * Bridge on

Kafusi Kafusi is a ward in Gwanda District of Matabeleland South province in southern Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, b ...

road. * Mankonkoni Bridge on Tuli - Kafusi road. This bridge was destroyed by

Cyclone Eline Intense Tropical Cyclone Leon–Eline was the second longest-lived cyclone in the Indian Ocean, behind Cyclone Freddy, traveling over during its 29-day track through the Indian Ocean, throughout the entire month of February. The cyclone formed ...

. There are also a number of fords and crossing points, including: * Ntalale causeway, which was badly damaged by Cyclone Eline. * Causeway below Thuli gorge

Development

In addition to a number of small

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s, there is one major dam on the Thuli River: *

Thuli–Makwe Dam Thuli–Makwe Dam is a reservoir on the Thuli River, west of Gwanda, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by ...

, west of

. It is located near the confluence with the Mtshelele River and supplies water for irrigation. The Mtshabezi River (the principal left-bank tributary) is dammed at Mtshabezi, Sheet and Blanket.

Mtshabezi Dam Mtshabezi Dam is a reservoir on the Mtshabezi River, Zimbabwe, with a capacity of 11.4 million cubic metres. After the completion and commissioning of a pipeline linking it to Mzingwane Dam in 2013, Mtshabezi became the sixth dam supplying wa ...

will augment the water supply for the City of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, once a connecting pipeline has been completed. Sheet and Blanket Dams supply water to the City of

and

Blanket A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

and

Vubachikwe Vumbachigwe is a village and mine in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It is located about north-west of Gwanda. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 2,077. The village grew up as the residential ...

Mines. Two additional dam sites have been selected further downstream: * Thuli–Moswa, where no development has taken place. * Thuli–Manyange, upstream of Elliot Bridge, where construction was briefly started in 2007 but is now halted.

References

{{coord, -21.8003, 29.0617, type:river_region:ZW, format=dms, display=title Rivers of Zimbabwe Shashe River