Umgeni River
| Mouth of the watercourse | Indian Ocean  |
|---|---|
| Tributary | Msunduzi River |
| Country | South Africa |
| Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Coordinate location | 29°48′36″S 31°2′8″E |
De Umgeni River anaa Mgeni River (Zulu: uMngeni) be a river insyd KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. E dey rise insyd de "Dargle" insyd de KZN Midlands, den ein mouth be at Durban, sam distance north of Durban ein natural harbour. E generally be agreed ein name dey mean "de river of entrance" insyd Zulu, though oda meanings be suggested.[1][2]
De river be approximately 232 kilometres (144 mi) long plus a catchment area of 4,432 square kilometres (1,711 sq mi). De Howick Falls be sam famous waterfalls on de Mngeni.
Tributaries
[edit | edit source]A noteworthy tributary be de Msunduzi River, wich dey join am between Nagle den Inanda dams. Higher up ein course, de Msunduzi (anaa 'Dusi' for short) dey pass thru de KwaZulu-Natal capital Pietermaritzburg. A famous downriver race, de Dusi Canoe Marathon dey take place between de capital den Durban, wey dey attract thousands of canoeists for de three-day event dem hold every year January.
A small tributary wey get an impact wey dey exceed ein size den length be de Lions River wich dey join de Umgeni about 4 kilometers upstream of Midmar Dam (near Lidgetton). Ein significance dey lie in de fact say e be a part of a water transfer scheme between de Mooi River (Spring Grove Dam) den de Umgeni.
A smaller tributary close to ein mouth be de 26-kilometre-long (16 mi) Palmiet River, wich for no be confused plus de Palmiet River insyd de Western Cape.[3]
Presently de Umgeni be part of de Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area.[4] Der be four large dams insyd ein catchment basin:
- Albert Falls Dam
- Inanda Dam
- Midmar Dam
- Nagle Dam
Ecology
[edit | edit source]De Scaly Yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) be a fish found insyd de Umgeni River System as well as insyd de Umzimkhulu, Thukela, Umkhomazi den de Umfolozi. E be a common endemic species insyd KwaZulu-Natal Province den dey live insyd different habitats between de Drakensberg foothills den de coastal lowlands.[5][6]
History
[edit | edit source]E be assumed say Vasco da Gama replenish ein fleet ein water supply at de Umgeni mouth on Christmas Day, 1497, wey so he name de region Natal, Portuguese for Christmas. De river then acquire de name "River of Natal".
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ du Plessis, E.J. (1973). Suid-Afrikaanse berg- en riviername. Tafelberg-uitgewers, Cape Town. pp. 277, 278. ISBN 0-624-00273-X.
- ↑ Raper, P.E. (2004). South African Place Names. Jonathan Ball, Jhb & Cape Town. p. 245. ISBN 1-86842-190-2.
- ↑ "Palmiet Nature Reserve Flooding". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ↑ Mvoti to Umzimkulu WMA 11
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Agunbiade, Foluso O.; Moodley, Brenda (2014-07-16). "Pharmaceuticals as emerging organic contaminants in Umgeni River water system, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 186 (11): 7273–7291. Bibcode:2014EMnAs.186.7273A. doi:10.1007/s10661-014-3926-z. ISSN 0167-6369. PMID 25027777. S2CID 25955776.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Peters, Janice (1973). Proceedings of the first International Conference on Ephomeroptera. Brill Archive. p. 90. ISBN 978-90-04-03590-4.