The Lotsane River is a river in southeastern
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalah ...
. It is a seasonal left hand tributary of the
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...
and has a catchment area of 9,748 square kilometers.
Course
The Lotsane has its source in the
sandveld
Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
, at the eastern fringes of the
Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal ...
. It flows roughly eastwards, passing close to
Serowe
Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bam ...
and through
Palapye
Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–sout ...
and flanking the feet of the
Tswapong Hills on their northern side near
Maunatlala. Finally it joins the left bank of the Limpopo River at the border with South Africa.
Its main tributaries are the
Morupule River and the
Kutswe River, the latter of which cuts across the
Mokgware Hills, a mountain range that divides the watershed of the rivers flowing northeastwards, such as the Maitsokgwane, from those flowing southeastwards like the Mahalapswe. Other tributaries are the
Dikabeya River and
Susuela River, which join the Lotsane east of the Tswapong area.
All the rivers in the Lotsane basin are dry throughout the year, experiencing ephemeral flow during the summer rainy season. People in nearby areas collect water stored in the sandy riverbed.
There is one main dam in the Lotsane River. Currently, the construction of other dams is planned.
According to the
Water Utilities Corporation, as of March 2012 the
Lotsane Dam was almost completed.
Gallery
File:ISS006-E-7917tswapong-lotsane.jpg, NASA picture of the Tswapong Hills with the Lotsane River flowing along the northern edge.
File:Palapye flood 1.jpg, Flash flood in Palapye, Central District, Botswana. Heavy rain caused a small dam to burst on the Lotsane River, which flows through the village
See also
*
Drainage basin A
*
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...
References
External links
Limpopo River BasinMorupule CollierySettlement and Land use between the 11th and the 17th centuries in BotswanaMmabolela - HistoryDrainage evolution in south-central Africa since the breakup of GondwanaAfrican Dams Briefing 2010
{dead link, date=May 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Lotsane Dam to supply Tswapong villages
Tributaries of the Limpopo River
Rivers of Botswana