The Motloutse River is a river in Botswana, a 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 mou ...

. The catchment area is . The

Letsibogo Dam The Letsibogo Dam is a dam on the Motloutse River in Botswana, built to initially provide water to the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding areas, with the potential for use in irrigation. The dam now supplies Gaborone, the capital o ...

on the Motloutse has been built to serve the industrial town of

Selebi-Phikwe Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt ''Selibe Phikwe'') is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District. Mining ...

and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation.

Ecology

A field survey of the region in January 1989, before the dam was built, recorded 120 species of birds, mostly small insectivores. A relatively large number of water birds were found due to the presence of permanent pools on the Motloutse river downstream from its confluence with the Letlhakane river. The species of bird were generally typical for the region. Before the dam was built, five or more pioneer fish species would migrate upstream from the Limpopo River into the Motloutse River during floods. The Letsibogo dam was expected to support a permanent fish population similar to that of the Shashe Dam.

Water resource

Mean annual precipitation is , while mean annual potential evapotranspiration is . Due to this difference, the river is an ephemeral sand river with surface flow only during the rainy season. Rainfall is also highly variable, with below 40% of the average annual rains expected one year in seven. Mean annual runoff is .

Mineral resources

Gold mining along the Motloutse and Limpopo rivers started around 1200 CE, about the time that

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone struc ...

rose to become a regional power. was found in 1860 in the old workings near

Francistown Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gabo ...

, to the north of the river, causing the first small gold rush in Africa. The first authenticated diamonds to be found in Botswana were three small stones discovered in 1959 by the Central African Selection Trust in gravels in the Motloutse River near Foley Siding. The team that found the diamonds examined the river up to its headwaters, but found no likely source.

References

Citations Sources * * * * {{refend Rivers of Botswana