Buffels River (Northern Cape)
| Country | South Africa  |
|---|---|
| Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd | Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape |
| Coordinate location | 29°40′39″S 17°3′5″E, 29°40′28″S 17°3′17″E, 29°40′35″S 17°3′8″E |
Buffels River be river wey dey flow only for a short period after rainfall den be dry for most of de year. E dey locate insyd de Northern Cape Province of South Africa. E dey flow thru de arid Namaqualand region den generally dey drain westwards towards de Atlantic Ocean near Kleinzee. De river dey make up of highly irregular flow patterns, e dey depend mainly on seasonal rainfall insyd ein catchment area.[1][2]
Course den basin
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De Buffels River dey originate insyd de inland highlands of de Northern Cape den dey flow westwards thru Namaqualand, e dey pass thru settlements such as Springbok, Nabaneep, den Okiep before reaching de Atlantic coast near Kleinzee, wey e fi form a temporary estuary during flood periods. De total course of de river be around 250 km (160 mi) insyd length.[3] Insyd ein lower reaches, de river be usually dry den only dey flow after heavy rainfall. E be highly ephemeral, wey dey flow strictly during flash floods den heavy rains, den dey remain completely dry for most of de year.[1][4][5]
Hydrology
[edit | edit source]De Buffels River be an ephemeral river wey dey flow only after rain fall. E dey drain a catchment area of approximately 9,000–9,500 km² wey e primarily dey depend on austral winter rainfall between May den September, although de eastern part of de catchment dey experience summer rainfall dem associate plus thunderstorms.[3] Rainfall insyd de region dey range between 100 mm den 300 mm annually, wey dey make de river highly prone to flash floods followed by long dry periods.[1] De majority of floods occur insyd de winter rainfall season, although occasional summer rainfall fi cause flash floods.[3]
Geology den Environment
[edit | edit source]De river dey flow thru de Namaqualand geological province, wich be dominated by ancient granite, gneiss, den metamorphic rocks. De region be semi-arid plus sparse vegetation wey adapt to drought conditions. Secof de soil be shallow den rocky, e no fi retain much water, so rainwater dey run off quickly after rainfall.[6][5]
References
[edit | edit source]- 1 2 3 "The Buffels River catchment illustrating the drainage network and rainfall isohyets". ResearchGate. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ "The Evolution of Estuaries". doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2011.01.004.
- 1 2 3 Benito, G.; Botero, B. A.; Thorndycraft, V. R.; Rico, M.; Sánchez-Moya, Y.; Sopeña, A.; Machado, M. J.; Dahan, O. (2011-04-08). "Rainfall-runoff modelling and palaeoflood hydrology applied to reconstruct centennial scale records of flooding and aquifer recharge in ungauged ephemeral rivers". Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (in English). 15 (4): 1185–1196. Bibcode:2011HESS...15.1185B. doi:10.5194/hess-15-1185-2011. ISSN 1607-7938.
- ↑ Van Gend, J.; Francis, M. L.; Watson, A. P.; Palcsu, L.; Horváth, A.; Macey, P. H.; Le Roux, P.; Clarke, C. E.; Miller, J. A. (2020). "Impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources and water quality". The Science of the Total Environment. 762. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143140. PMID 33131834.
- 1 2 "Hydrological response of a dryland ephemeral river to southern African climatic variability during the last millennium". Quaternary Research (in American English). 75 (3). 2011-05-01. doi:10.1016/j.yqre (inactive 8 June 2026). ISSN 0033-5894. Archived from the original on 2024-04-21.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of June 2026 (link) - ↑ "Research Portal". ujcontent.uj.ac.za. Retrieved 2026-06-07.