Cuando River

Cuando River

river

Origin of the watercourse	Bié Plateau
Mouth of the watercourse	Zambezi River
Drainage basin	Zambezi Basin
Country	Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia
Coordinate location	13°0′8″S 19°7′16″E, 18°30′8″S 23°36′58″E

De Cuando (anaa Kwando) be a river insyd south-central Africa wey dey flow thru Angola den Namibia ein Caprivi Strip den into de Linyanti Swamp on de northern border of Botswana. Below de swamp, de river be called de Linyanti River den, farther east, de Chobe River, before e flow into de Zambezi River.

Course

A bit of Namibia as seen from de Linyanti River

Sunset over de Chobe River insyd Botswana ein Chobe National Park

Aerial photo of de confluence of de Kuando (Chobe) River (centre left) den de Zambezi River at Kazungula (map, 9) wey dey look west, at Africa ein "four corners", wer Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, den Botswana dey meet

Map of de Cuando-Linyanti-Chobe river system insyd de region of Namibia ein Caprivi Strip wey base on a NASA satellite photo (note orientation plus north-west at top). Water dey show black. 1 De Cuando River; 2 Caprivi Strip; 3 Mudumu National Park den Lianshulu Lodge, de end of de Linyanti Swamp; 4 Linyanti Swamp den Mamli National Park, wer a ridge of Kalahari sand dey block flow to de south-east; 5 Okavango River den delta wich dey sink into de Kalahari sands; 6 Linyanti River; 7 Lake Liambezi (dry wen dem take de photo); 8 Chobe River; 9 Confluence of Chobe den Zambezi at Kazungula; 10 Na Zambezi den Caprivi Swamps dey experience an extreme flood at de time of de photo

Lake Liambesi

De Cuando dey rise insyd de central plateau of Angola on de slopes of Mount Tembo, thence dey flow southeast along de Zambian border. Along dis reach e dey flow insyd a maze of channels insyd a swampy corridor 5–10 km wide (map 1: de border plus Zambia be de eastern bank of dis floodplain, no be de river channel). As plus all rivers insyd south-central Africa, ein flow dey vary enormously between de rainy season wen e flood den fi be several kilometres wide, den de dry season wen e fi disappear into marshes.

De Cuando dey continue insyd ein marshy channel across de neck of de Caprivi Strip of Namibia (map, 2) den then dey form de border between Namibia den Botswana as e dey continue southeast. Sam 10,000 years ago, de Cuando merge plus de Okavango River wey dem flow south to Lake Makgadikgadi (wich be a seasonal wetland in current times), buh de land insyd dat area be uplifted. As a consequence de Cuando now dey meet slightly higher ground (map, 4) den dey break up into chaw channels den swamps (dem call de Linyanti Swamp) dem dot plus alluvial islands, nearly dey disappear into de Kalahari sands like de Okavango (map, 5). Buh instead e be diverted east wey e be captured by de Zambezi. De flow dey turn sharply east, still dey form de border plus Botswana. Insyd de dry season der be few open channels thru de swamps den marshes. Beginning at dis point e be known as de Linyanti (map, 6), den after e dey flow thru a seasonal lake, Lake Liambesi (map, 7), e be called de Chobe (map, 8). De river then dey flow into de Zambezi just above de former Kazungula Ferry (map, 9), dem now replace by de Kazungula Bridge.

In years wen de Okavango dey experience a good flood sam of de water dey escape east along de normally dry channel of de Magwekwana River (dem sanso know as Selinda Spillway) into de Linyanti Swamp, thus dey enter de Zambezi basin. De Selinda Spillway den de Boteti River be de only outlets of de Okavango basin.

On de north side of de Chobe River be de Caprivi Swamps, on de edge of wich be de ruined capital of de Kololo people wey conquer Barotseland insyd de 19th century.

So much of de water of de Cuando, Linyanti den Chobe be lost to evaporation insyd de various swamps wey ein contribution to de flow of de Zambezi be very small except insyd occasional years wen e flood excessively.

De perennial river bifurcation of Selinda Spillway (anaa Magweggana River), for de Cuando River top, dey connect de Kalahari Basin to de Zambezi Basin.

Wildlife

De Cuando system be noted for ein wildlife den for chaw of ein length de land either side be protected as game reserves anaa wildlife management areas. Sam of dese suffer poaching during wars den conflict insyd Namibia den Angola, buh plus peace restored insyd those countries dem get de chance of returning to dema former state.

De national parks thru wich de Cuando dey pass anaa on wich e dey border be:

• Coutada Publica do Luiana (Angola)
• Sioma Ngwezi National Park (Zambia)
• Bwabwata National Park (Namibia)
• Mudumu National Park (Namibia)
• Nkasa Rupara National Park (Namibia)
• Chobe National Park (Botswana)

Sources

• "Afrique Centre et Sud", Carte Routiere et Touristique Michelin, Paris (1996)
• C. Michael Hogan (2008) Makgadikgadi, ed. A. Burnham, Makgadikgadi Ancient Village or Settlement, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22373&mode=&order=0
• Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, G. M. Bernacsek (1992) A Directory of African Wetlands, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 820 pages