Umkomazi River
| Umkomazi River | |
| uMkhomazi, Mkhomazi, Umkomaas | |
| River | |
|
Surf near the Umkomazi River mouth at Umkomaas
|
|
| Name origin: Meaning 'the place of she-whales' in the Zulu language[1] | |
| Country | South Africa |
|---|---|
| Region | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Source | Near Thabana Ntlenyana |
| - location | Drakensberg, Lesotho |
| - elevation | 3,000 m (9,843 ft) |
| Mouth | Indian Ocean |
| - location | Umkomaas |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
  Location of the Umkomazi River mouth
|
|
The Umkomazi River is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[2]
Course
It rises in some of the highest eastwards-facing slopes of the Drakensberg mountains, near the mighty Thabana Ntlenyana. The river flows southeastwards towards the Indian Ocean, which it enters through a navigable estuary at Umkomaas, about 40 km southwest of Durban.[3] Its main tributaries are the Loteni, Nzinga, Mkomazane, Elands and the Xobho River.[4]
Towns on the Umkomazi basin include Bulwer, Impendle, Ixopo, Craigieburn and Boston. Presently the only dam in its catchment area is the Ixopo Dam, but other dams are planned.[5]
The Umkomazi is part of the Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area.[6]
Ecology
The Mkhomazi State Forest and the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area are protected areas located in the upper course of the Umkomazi River.[7]
The Scaly Yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is a fish found in the Umkomazi River System as well as in the Umgeni, Umzimkulu, Tukhela and the Umfolozi. It is a common endemic species in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it lives in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ Dictionary of Southern African Place Names
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mkomazi Region
- ↑ Mvoti to Umzimkulu WMA 11
- ↑ Mkomazi Region
- ↑ Is there a role for traditional governance systems in South Africa's new water management regime?
- ↑ Mkhomazi Wilderness Area
- ↑ Technical Report on the State of Yellowfishes in South Africa 2007
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Mkhomazi State Forest, KwaZulu Natal
- Water Services Planning Reference Framework - Water Resource Perspectives
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This article related to a river in South Africa is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
