Umfolozi River
| Mouth of the watercourse | Indian Ocean  |
|---|---|
| Tributary | White Umfolozi River |
| Country | South Africa |
| Coordinate location | 28°24′6″S 32°25′17″E |
De Umfolozi River (sanso be uMfolozi, Imfolozi anaa Mfolozi) be a river insyd KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. E be formed by de confluence of de Black (Imfolozi emnyama) den White Umfolozi (Imfolozi emhlope) Rivers near de southeastern boundary of de Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve. De isiZulu name imFolozi generally be considered to describe de zigzag course wey both tributaries follow, though oda explanations be given.[1]
De river dey flow insyd an easterly direction to de Indian Ocean at Maphelana, a coastal resort just south of de St Lucia River mouth. E originally meander over de Monzi Flats, wer e split into numerous slow-flowing channels before e dey enter de St. Lucia Estuary at Honeymoon Bend. De slow-moving water den reed beds insyd channels wey operate as a natural filtering system wey removed silt from de Umfolozi floodwaters wey e create a rich habitat give numerous species.
Ecology
[edit | edit source]During de 1950s, de Umfolozi Landowners Association contain den artificially channel de river thru de Monzi Flats to develop sugarcane farms. De new Umfolozi canal result in de unfiltered water depositing ein silt load after entering de slower moving St. Lucia Estuary. Dis cause de estuary mouth to rapidly silt up. Der be only one record of dis occurring til dat time, during de sustained drought during de 1930s.
At 28°20′58″S 31°58′46″E / 28.34944°S 31.97944°E / -28.34944; 31.97944 de Black Umfolozi River den de White Umfolozi River, dey join to form de Umfolozi.
Characteristics
[edit | edit source]E be a meandering river, plus a catchment area of 11,068 km3. E be 38 metres wide near ein mouth, plus a slope gradient of 0.36 m/km. De average diameter of de bed material be 0.35 mm (sand).[2]
Fish
[edit | edit source]De scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) be a fish found insyd de Umfolozi River System as well as insyd de Umzimkulu, Umkomazi, Tugela den de Mgeni. E be a common endemic species insyd KwaZulu-Natal Province wey e dey live insyd different habitats between de Drakensberg foothills den de coastal lowlands.[3]
Aerial photos
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De lower Umfolozi wey dey converge on St. Lucia town (top right)
De Mfolozi Rivers dem see e dey converge on de iSimangaliso Wetland Park
De old den new courses near de mouth, plus de Msunduzi wey dey converge from de left (i.e. south), wey dey enclose a wetland. Also note de silt plume at sea.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ du Plessis, E.J. (1973). Suid-Afrikaanse berg- en riviername. Tafelberg-uitgewers, Cape Town. p. 273. ISBN 0-624-00273-X.
- ↑ Hanibal Lemma, and colleagues (2019). "Bedload transport measurements in the Gilgel Abay River, Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia". Journal of Hydrology. 577 123968. Bibcode:2019JHyd..57723968L. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.123968. S2CID 199099061.
- ↑ "Technical Report on the State of Yellowfishes in South Africa 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
External links
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