| Komati River Komatirivier, Incomati River, Inkomati River | |
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| Etymology | From theSwazi language word for "cow", meaninghippos |
| Location | |
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| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | NearErmelo,Mpumalanga |
| • elevation | 1,800 m (5,900 ft) |
| Mouth | Indian Ocean |
• location | Maputo Bay |
• coordinates | 25°48′57.46″S32°43′38.89″E / 25.8159611°S 32.7274694°E /-25.8159611; 32.7274694 |
| Length | 480 km (300 mi) |
| Basin size | 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 111 m3/s (3,900 cu ft/s) |
TheKomati River,[1] also known as theInkomati River[2] orIncomati River[3] (inMozambique, from PortugueseRio Incomati[4]), is a river inSouth Africa,Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by theCrocodile River in theLebombo Mountains, enters far south-western Mozambique below the border town ofKomatipoort, and enters theIndian Ocean around 24 km (15 mi) north-east ofMaputo.[4]
It is 480 kilometres (298 mi) long, with adrainage basin 50,000 square kilometres (19,300 sq mi) in size. Its mean annualdischarge is 111m3/s (3,920cfs) at its mouth.[5]
The name Komati is derived frominkomati, meaning "cow" insiSwati, as itsperennial nature is compared to a cow that always has milk.[6]
The river originates west ofCarolina, rising at an elevation of about 1,800 m (5,906 ft) nearBreyten in theErmelo district of theMpumalanga province.[7] It flows in a general northeasterly direction and reaches theIndian Ocean atMaputo Bay, after a course of some 800 km (497 mi).[8]
TheKomati Gorge is situated in the upper reaches of the Komati River and is thehabitat of someendangered species such as thesouthern bald ibis.[9] In 2001 the 115 m high wall of theMaguga Dam was completed south ofPiggs Peak, Eswatini,26°4′51.57″S31°15′25.84″E / 26.0809917°S 31.2571778°E /-26.0809917; 31.2571778
In its upper valley near Steynsdorp are goldfields, but the reefs consist almost entirely of low grade ore. The river descends theDrakensberg by a pass 48 km (30 mi) south of Barberton, and is deflected northward at the eastern border of Eswatini, keeping a course parallel to the Lebombo mountains. Just west of 32° E and 25° 25′ S, near the town ofKomatipoort, it is joined by theCrocodile River. The Crocodile tributary rises, as theElands River, in the Bergendal (1,961 m) near the upper waters of the Komati, and flows eastwards across thehighveld, being turned northward as it reaches the Drakensberg escarpment. The fall to thelowveld is over 600 metres in 48 km (30 mi), and across the 161 km (100 mi) wide country between the Drakensberg and theLebombo there is a further fall of 900 metres.[8]
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Just over a kilometre below the junction of the Crocodile, the united stream, which from this point is also known as the Manhissa, passes to the coastal plain through a 190 m high cleft, high in the Lebombo known asKomatipoort, featuring some picturesque falls. At Komatipoort, which marks the border between South Africa and Mozambique, the river is less than 100 km (60 mi) from its mouth in a direct line, but in crossing the plain it makes a wide sweep of 322 km (200 mi), first northwards before turning southwards, forming lagoon-like expanses and backwaters and receiving from the north several tributaries. In flood time there is a connection northward through the swamps with the basin of the Limpopo. The Komati enters the sea 24 km (15 mi) north ofMaputo. It is navigable from its mouth, where the water is up to 5m deep, to the foot of the Lebombo.[8]
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The Portuguese named the river's lower reaches the Rio des Reijs, either "river of rice" or "river of kings".[10] Subsequently,Jan van Riebeeck's journal mentions a Rio de Reijs, when he dispatched a ship up the east coast in search of rice supplies.[11] In voortrekkerLouis Tregardt's journal it is referred to as the Manhissa,[12] a name still extant, while to the British it was known as the King George River.[13]
In 1725 a Dutch expedition led by Francois de Kuiper explored the region of the lower Komati and travelled 30 km into the current Mpumalanga province, before they were attacked by local tribes and had to return toDelagoa Bay.
On the September 23, 1900 during theSecond Boer War, 3,000 Boers crossed the frontier at the small town of Komati Poort, and surrendered to thePortuguese authorities.[8]
On November 7, 1900, the banks of the Komati became the site of a battle between theBritish Empire and theBoers. TheBattle of Leliefontein was a retreat by the British, harassed by the Boers, who were threatening to capture the British Artillery. The British guns were saved by theRoyal Canadian Dragoons who charged the Boers, whereby they placed the guns out of their reach.
The railway fromMaputo toPretoria traverses the plain in a direct line, and at seventy-two kilometres, reaches the Komati. It follows the south bank of the river and enters the high country at Komati Poort. From the Poort westward the railway skirts the south bank of theCrocodile River throughout its length.[8] This railway was originally constructed by theNetherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) and was officially inaugurated in 1895.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Komati".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 892.| International | |
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