Mzimvubu River or Umzimvubu River is one of the most important rivers in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located in the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Course

The river has its source in the northern region of the Eastern Cape, in the area of Matatiele and Mount Fletcher near the

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

border. The Mzimvubu flows with twists and turns generally in a southeastern direction and flows into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

through an impressive gorge known as the "Gates of St John" into an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

located at Port St. Johns. It is approximately 400 km long with a catchment area of 19,853 km². Although it is one of South Africa's major rivers, the Mzimvubu and its basin are largely undeveloped. Presently this river is part of the Mzimvubu to Keiskamma Water Management Area.

History

In 1635 Portuguese ship 'Nossa Senhora de Belem' ran aground at the mouth of the Mzimvubu River. The Mzimvubu River divides Pondoland into an Eastern and Western Pondoland. Formerly the river mouth was used as a harbor, but this activity was abandoned in the 1940s when the estuary became too shallow for large vessels owing to

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

and the fact that the entrance is sometimes obstructed by sand. Presently the estuary is river is navigable only for small craft for about 10 km upriver.van der Merwe, E. and Costello, K. ''Port St. Johns, "Paradise in Pondoland" (2nd edition)''.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Mzimvubu River are the Tsitsa River, the Thina River (Tina), the Kinira River and the Mzintlava River.

Ecology

Some of the fishes caught in its waters are Oncorhynchus mykiss, an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

, Barbus anoplus and Anguilla mossambica; others, such as Micropterus salmoides and Cyprinus carpio, are

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

. Bull sharks frequent the waters and are known to breed in the river and are linked to a spate of attacks on nearby beaches.

References

External links

Mzimvubu River Spring SurveyKey rivers of South AfricaIs there a role for traditional governance systems in South Africa's new water management regime?
{{Authority control Rivers of the Eastern Cape Internal borders of South Africa