The Nyl River () is a watercourse in

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

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 flows at the head of the

Mogalakwena River The Mogalakwena River () is one of the main watercourses in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is also a major tributary of the Limpopo River. Course file:Waterberg SPOT 1369.jpg, left, SPOT Satellite photograph of the northern Waterberg showing ...

, being its southernmost tributary or uppermost section. It is located near

Mookgophong Mookgophong, formerly known as Naboomspruit, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town is located approximately 42 km north-east of Modimolle and 51 km south-west of Mokopane. History It was founded on the farm Vischg ...

(Naboomspruit) in the northern part of the

Springbok Flats The Springbok Flats is an extensive plain situated in Limpopo, South Africa. The southern boundary is the Pienaars River which intersects the N1 main road between Pretoria and Polokwane. To the west it includes the towns of Bela-Bela, Modimolle, ...

, a particular geological formation. The name of the Nyl River originated in the word for "Nile". In the 1860s, a group of pious and enthusiastic

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

s known as the ''Jerusalemgangers'', saw the large flooded plain with its wide river flowing lazily northwards and were under the impression that they had arrived at the mighty ''Nylrivier'', the

Nile river The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

. They settled the place and founded a town in 1866, calling it ''

Nylstroom Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (citrus, grapes and cattle) as well ...

''.

Course

The Nyl river is fed mostly by smaller tributaries flowing from the

Waterberg Massif The Waterberg () is a mountainous massif of approximately in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2,000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is located just north ...

that flow roughly northeastwards into a wide and shallow plain with a very feeble gradient. The main stream is known as Groot Nyl and has its sources to the east of

Bela-Bela Bela-Bela (Tswana language, Tswana/Pedi for "the pot that boils") - formerly known as Warmbaths, Afrikaans: Warmbad- is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was b ...

(Warmbad). Its most important tributaries are the Olifantspruit and the Tobiasspruit. Other tributaries are the Klein Nyl, Middelfonteinspruit, Hessie-se-Water, De Wet Zyn Loop, Bad se Loop, Andriesspruit, Kotjie se Loop and the Dorpspruit. The Nyl plain becomes seasonally flooded and is full of

reeds Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

and other

aquatic plant Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and Non-vascular plant, non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments (marine ecosystem, saltwater or freshwater ecosystem, freshwater ...

s. It is known as Nylsvlei, from the word ''

vlei A vlei (; ) is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent lake, intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or e ...

'' usually applied to

intermittent lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

s, for the main course in its midst flows northeastwards very slowly. Further on it bends northwards as the north-leaning gradient of the river tilts to a sharper angle. Finally the Nyl becomes the Mogalakwena River shortly before the Dorps River joins the right bank of the stream.

Dams in the basin

The Donkerpoort Dam is a dam on the Klein Nyl near

Modimolle Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (citrus, grapes and cattle) as well ...

, former Nylstroom. The reservoir is a popular fishing spot.

Ecology

The flood-plain of the Nyl, also known as the Nyl pan (), is a seasonal

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, for the basin of the Mogalakwena is affected by a five-year rain cycle in which the river is virtually dry for five years, followed by another five years in which there is sufficient water flow. It is one of the largest single

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s in South Africa providing a haven for

aquatic bird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seab ...

s. This flood-plain is now the site of the

Nylsvley Nature Reserve Nylsvley Nature Reserve is a protected area, located on and beside the seasonally-inundated floodplain of the Nyl River, the uppermost section of the Mogalakwena which has a very shallow gradient. It is located near Mookgophong in the Limpopo ...

, a

Ramsar wetland of international importance Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially ...

References

External links

Wetlands - Nylsvley Nature Reserve
{Dead link, date=April 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
ZA007 Nyl river flood-plain
Mogalakwena River Rivers of Limpopo

Course

Dams in the basin

Ecology

See also

References

External links