Buffalo River (Eastern Cape)
| Mouth of the watercourse | Indian Ocean  |
|---|---|
| Country | South Africa |
| Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd | Eastern Cape |
| Coordinate location | 33°1′43″S 27°51′51″E |
De Buffalo River dey insyd dee city of East London on de East Coast of South Africa. Edey de west of de Nahoon River. Ebe de only navigable river insyd South Africa. Dem establish de town of East London around am.
Ein Course
[edit | edit source]
De Buffalo River get ein source insyd de seeps den sponges of de Amatola Mountains for altitude of 1200 m.[1] De river be 126 kilometres long wey edey drain catchment of 1287 square kilometres.[1] From ein source, de river dey descend thru indigenous forest insyd deeply incised channel, flanked by rock cliffs up to 120 metres high. De quality of dese headwaters be good. After only seven kilometres, de river dey face ein first obstruction, de small Maden Dam, wey dem build insyd 1910 (116 years old).[2] Four kilometres downstream of Maden Dam, de much larger Rooikrantz Dam dey impound about five million cubic metres. Rooikrantz Dam dey supply water give King William's Town den ein surrounding areas. Twenty kilometres from ein source, for altitude of 450 metres above mean sea level, de Cwengcwe River den Izele River join de Buffalo from de northeast. From here de river dey run through undulating plains.
Two major tributaries from de west wey dey join de middle section of de Buffalo River be de Mgqakwebe River just upstream of King William's Town den de Ngqokweni River at Zwelitsha. Plus de oda important tributary be de Yellowwoods River, plus e dey flow from de north come straight enter Laing Dam. Wen e full, Laing Dam dey cover 203 hectares wey e get 20 million cubic metres of water.
From Laing Dam, de Buffalo River dey flow go east for 40 kilometres reach Bridle Drift Dam, wey be de biggest impoundment for de river, plus full supply volume of 101 million cubic metres. Small streams for de northern bank dey carry runoff come straight enter Bridle Drift Dam from Mdantsane, wey be de second biggest township for Eastern Cape.
From Bridle Drift Dam, de Buffalo River dey flow pass low-altitude coastal forest for twenty kilometres and e form de northern border of Umtiza Nature Reserve before e enter de Indian Ocean thru de estuary harbour of East London.
Ein Ecology
[edit | edit source]De endangered border barb dey live insyd de waters of de Buffalo River.[3] Small population of de endangered Eastern Province rocky (Sandelia bainsii) dey insyd de Yellowwoods River, part of de Buffalo River basin.[4]
Presently dis river be part of de Mzimvubu to Keiskama Water Management Area.[5]
Ein Tributaries
[edit | edit source]Include de Mgqakwebe River, Ngqokweni River den Yellowwoods River, dis last river dey include some waterfalls de largest wey be de Yellowwoods Falls, near Breidbach.
References
[edit | edit source]- 1 2 "Report Highlights Impacts on River Health (Buffalo River)" (PDF). The Water Wheel (March/April): 8–11. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
- ↑ "Maden Dam details". www.artefacts.co.za. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ↑ Barbus trevelyani
- ↑ Sandelia bainsii
- ↑ Is there a role for traditional governance systems in South Africa's new water management regime?
External links
[edit | edit source]