TheLimpopo River (/lɪmˈpoʊpoʊ/) rises inSouth Africa[2] and flows generally eastward throughMozambique to theIndian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group ofTsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountainous vicinity and named the area after their leader.[citation needed] The river has been called theVhembe by localVenda communities of the area where now that name has been adopted by theSouth African government as itsDistrict Municipality in the north, a name that was also suggested in 2002 as a possible title for the province but was voted against. The river is approximately 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, with adrainage basin of 415,000 km2 (160,000 sq mi) in size. The meandischarge measured over a year is 170 m3/s (6,000 cu ft/s) to 313 m3/s (11,100 cu ft/s) at its mouth.[3][1] The Limpopo is the second largest Africanriver that drains to the Indian Ocean, after theZambezi River.[4]
The first European to sight the river wasVasco da Gama, who anchored off its mouth in 1498 and named itRio do Espírito Santo (lit.'River of theHoly Spirit'). Its lower course was explored bySt Vincent Whitshed Erskine in 1868–69, and Captain J F Elton travelled down its middle course in 1870.
The drainage area of Limpopo River has decreased overgeological time. Up toLate Pliocene orPleistocene times, the upper course of the Zambezi River drained into the Limpopo River.[5] The change of thedrainage divide is the result ofepeirogenic movement that uplifted the surface north of present-day Limpopo River, diverting waters into Zambezi River.[6]
The river flows in a great arc, first zigzagging north and then north-east, then turning east and finally south-east. It serves as a border for about 640 kilometres (398 mi), separating South Africa to the southeast from Botswana to the northwest and Zimbabwe to the north. At theconfluence of theMarico River and theCrocodile River, the name becomes the Limpopo River. There are severalrapids as the river falls offSouthern Africa's inlandescarpment.
In the north-eastern corner of South Africa the river borders theKruger National Park. The port town ofXai-Xai, Mozambique, is on the river near themouth. Below the Olifants, the river isnavigable to the sea, though asandbar prevents access by large ships except at high tide.
Sign at the viewing deck of the Limpopo River at Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa, featuring a quote from Rudyard Kipling
The waters of the Limpopo flow sluggishly, with considerable silt content.Rudyard Kipling's characterization of the river as the "great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about withfever-trees", where the "Bi-Coloured Python Rock-Snake" dwells[10] in theJust So Stories is apt. Rainfall is seasonal and unreliable: in dry years, the upper parts of the river flow for 40 days or less. The upper part of the drainage basin, in the Kalahari Desert, is arid but conditions become less arid further downriver. The next reaches drain theWaterberg Massif, abiome of semi-deciduous forest and low-density human population.[11] The fertile lowlands support a denser population, and about 14 million people live in the Limpopo basin.Flooding during therainy season is an occasional problem in the lower reaches. During February 2000 heavy rainfalls during the passage of acyclone caused the catastrophic2000 Mozambique flood.
The highest concentration ofhippopotamus in the Limpopo River is found between the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena Rivers.[12] There is a lot of mining activity in the Limpopo River basin with about 1,900 functioning mines, not counting about 1,700 abandoned mines.[13]
Vasco da Gama, on his first expedition, was probably among the first Europeans to sight the river, when he anchored off the mouth in 1498. However, there has been human habitation in the region since time immemorial—sites in the Makapans Valley nearMokopane containAustralopithecus fossils from 3.5 million years ago.St Vincent Whitshed Erskine, later surveyor general for South Africa, traveled to the mouth of the river in 1868–69.[14]
AZambezi shark was caught hundreds of kilometres upriver at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers in July 1950. Zambezi sharks tolerate fresh water and can travel far up the Limpopo.[15] In 2013, approximately 15,000Nile crocodiles were accidentally released into the river from flood gates at the nearby Rakwena Crocodile Farm.[16]
^Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.
^C. Michael Hogan, Mark L. Cooke and Helen Murray,The Waterberg Biosphere, Lumina Technologies, May 22, 2006."Lumaw". Archived fromthe original on 24 March 2007. Retrieved23 December 2006.
^Erskine, Vincent W. (1869). "Journey of Exploration to the Mouth of the River Limpopo".The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London.39:233–276.doi:10.2307/1798552.JSTOR1798552.
^Pienaar, U. de V.,The Freshwater Fishes of theKruger National Park, Koedoe Vol 11, No 1 (1968)
