Limpopo River

Limpopo River

river

Mouth of the watercourse	Indian Ocean
Drainage basin	Limpopo basin
Basin country	Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Country	Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Coordinate location	24°11′28″S 26°52′14″E, 25°12′9″S 33°30′53″E

De Limpopo River (/lɪmˈpoʊpoʊ/) dey rise for South Africa wey edey flow generally eastward thru Mozambique go de Indian Ocean. De river be like 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, wey eget drainage basin of like 415,000 km2 (160,000 mi2) for ein size insyd. De mean discharge dey measure over a year be 170 m3/s (6,000 cu ft/s) to 313 m3/s (11,100 cu ft/s) for ein morf. De Limpopo be de second largest river for Africa wey dey drain go de Indian Ocean insyd after de Zambezi.

Na de first European to sight de river be Vasco da Gama, wey anchor off ein mouth insyd 1498 wey he name am Rio do Espírito Santo (lit. 'River of the Holy Spirit'). Ein lower course be explored by St Vincent Whitshed Erskine insyd 1868–69, den Captain J F Elton travel down ein middle course insyd 1870. Na de river be called de Vhembe by local Venda communities of de area wer now dat name be adopted by de South African government as ein District Municipality insyd de north.

De drainage area of de Limpopo really decrease over geological time. Up to Late Pliocene anaa Pleistocene times, de upper course of de Zambezi River drain go de Limpopo River insyd. De change of de drainage divide be de result of epeirogenic movement wey uplift de surface north of present-day Limpopo River, wey dey divert waters go de Zambezi River insyd.

Course

De river dey flow for one big curve. E first dey move north den north-east, then e turn go east before e finally go south-east. De river dey serve as border for about 640 kilometres (398 mi), wey dey separate South Africa for southeast from Botswana for northwest den Zimbabwe for north. For where Marico River den Crocodile River join, na from der de river dey get de name Limpopo River. De river get plenty rapids secof e dey flow down from Southern Africa ein inland escarpment.

Notwane River be one important tributary of Limpopo River. E start from de edge of Kalahari Desert for Botswana den dey flow go north-east.

De biggest tributary of Limpopo River be Olifants River (Elephant River), wey dey contribute about 1,233 million m³ of water every year. Oda important tributaries dey include Shashe River, Mzingwane River, Crocodile River, Mwenezi River den Luvuvhu River.

For de north-eastern corner of South Africa, de river dey form part of de border of Kruger National Park. De port town of Xai-Xai for Mozambique dey on top of de river near where e enter de sea. From below Olifants River, people fit use de river for transport go sea, but one sandbar dey block big ships from passing unless high tide dey.

Tributaries

Left hand	Right hand
Notwane River Bonwapitse River Mahalapswe River Lotsane River Motloutse River Shashe River Umzingwani River Bubi River Mwenezi River Changane River	Marico River Crocodile River Matlabas River Mokolo River Palala River Mogalakwena River Kolope River Sand River Nwanedi River Luvuvhu River Olifants River

Gallery

• 
  De river as dem see from Crook's Corner insyd Kruger National Park, South Africa. Straight ahead of de river be Mozambique. Across de river be Zimbabwe.
• 
  Crossing Limpopo insyd Mozambique

External links

• Climate change implications for water resources in the Limpopo River Basin, study by IFPRI
• Green and blue water accounting in the Limpopo and Nile Basins, study by IFPRI
• Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) www.limcom.org
• FROC - Reference frequency of occurrence of fish species in South Africa
• "Bolstering sustainable groundwater development in the Limpopo Basin". IW:Learn. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.