The Olifants River, Lepelle, iBhalule or Obalule ( af, Olifantsrivier; pt, Rio dos Elefantes) is a river in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

, 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 mount ...

. It falls into the Drainage Area B of the Drainage basins of South Africa. The historical area of the

Pedi people The Pedi or (also known as the Northern Sotho or and the Marota or ) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or ''Sepedi'', a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used to ...

Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named aft ...

, is located between the Olifants River and one of its largest tributaries, the

Steelpoort River The Steelpoort River, iNdubazi or Tubatse ( af, Steelpoortrivier) is a river in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It flows northeastwards and is a right hand tributary of the Olifants River, joining it at the lower end of its basin. Its source is ...

Course

The Olifants River has its origin between

Breyten Breyten is a small farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is situated at the foot of ''Klipstapel'', the highest point on the watershed between the westward-flowing Vaal River system and the eastward-flowing Olifants and Komati River sys ...

and

Bethal Bethal () is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies east of Johannesburg on the N17 (South Africa), N17 National Route. History The town origina ...

Mpumalanga Province Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. It flows north towards

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 capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

through

Witbank Dam Witbank Dam is a buttress type dam located on the Olifants River in South Africa. It was established in 1971 and serves mainly for municipal and industrial water supply purposes. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high (3). See als ...

and then the

Loskop Dam Loskop Dam is a combined gravity and arch type dam located on the Olifants River, near Groblersdal, Mpumalanga, South Africa. It was established in 1939 and has been renovated in 1979. The dam is situated in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve and it s ...

and is forced east by the Transvaal

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...

, cutting through at the Abel Erasmus Pass and then flowing east further across the Lowveld to join with the

Letaba River The Letaba River ( af, Letabarivier), also known as Leţaba, Lehlaba or Ritavi, is a river located in eastern Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is one of the most important tributaries of the Olifants River. Course It starts at the confluence ...

. It crosses into

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to ...

, after cutting through the

Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...

by way of the Olifants Gorge, becoming the ''Rio dos Elefantes'', and finally joining the

after 40 km before it enters the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

Xai-Xai Xai-Xai () is a city in the south of Mozambique. Until 1975, the city was named João Belo. It is the capital of Gaza Province. As of 2007 it has a population of 116,343. History Portuguese rule Xai-Xai, formerly João Belo, developed in the e ...

north of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,08 ...

Water quality

Overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

in sections of its middle course result in the river carrying away eroded soil after heavy rains. The Olifants river has become one of the most heavily polluted rivers in South Africa, not by human or industrial waste, but by thriving green algae. A 2013 study in the Kruger Park found that the river was mesotrophic, meaning that nutrient levels were fairly low, though a slight increase in

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...

s could initiate

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

. Very high

sulphate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic ion, polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salt (chemistry), ...

levels were attributed to coal mining and industry in the upper catchment.

Tributaries

The Olifants River's largest tributaries are the

and the

known as Tubatse River. Other tributaries are the Tongwane, Blyde, Moses, Spekboom,

Timbavati The Timbavati Private Nature Reserve is located at the border line between Hoedspruit (in Limpopo) and Acornhoek (in Mpumalanga), north of the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve on the western edge of Kruger National Park. Geographically and poli ...

, Nkumpi, Ga-Selati, Klaserie, Makhutswi, Mohlapitse River, Lepellane River, Mohwetse River and Ngwaritsi River. Some tributaries, notably the

Klein Olifants River Klein may refer to: People * Klein (surname) *Klein (musician) Places * Klein (crater), a lunar feature *Klein, Montana, United States * Klein, Texas, United States * Klein (Ohm), a river of Hesse, Germany, tributary of the Ohm * Klein River, a ...

(origin near Hendrina, joins the Olifants River downstream of the Middelburg Dam), the Elands, Wilge and the

Bronkhorstspruit Bronkhorstspruit is a town 50 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa along the N4 highway towards Witbank. It also includes three townships called Zithobeni, Rethabiseng and Ekangala. On 18 May 2011, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipali ...

, rise in the

Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...

grasslands. The

Shingwedzi River The Shingwedzi River ( ve, Tshingwedzi; ts, Xingwedzi/shingwedzi; af, Shingwedzirivier; pt, Rio Singuédzi) is a river in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is a left hand tributary of the Olifants River ''(Rio d ...

flows close to the northeastern side of the

Massingir Dam Massingir Dam is a dam on the Rio dos Elefantes (Olifants or Lepelle), Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is named after the town of Massingir, in Massingir District. The Shingwedzi River flows close to the northeastern side of the reservoir and join ...

reservoir and joins the left bank of the Olifants about 12 km downstream from the dam wall.

Dams

Thirty large dams in the Olifants River Catchment include the following:

South Africa

* Rhenosterkop Dam, on the Elands River *

Rust de Winter Dam The Rust de Winter Dam is a dam located on the Elands River, Limpopo, South Africa. History It was established in 1920 and has a capacity of 28 million m3 behind a wall of 31 m. The dam is used for irrigation of farms. The name has its orig ...

Blyderivierpoort Dam Blyderivierpoort Dam is a gravity-arch dam on the Blyde River, in the lower Blyde River Canyon, near Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It also floods the lower reaches of the Blyde's Ohrigstad River tributary. The dam was completed in 19 ...

* Middelburg Dam, on the

* Ohrigstad Dam *

De Hoop Dam De Hoop Dam is a dam on the Kamdeboo River, near Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1938 and its primary purpose is for irrigation. See also *List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa *List of rivers of South Afr ...

Flag Boshielo Dam Flag Boshielo Dam is a water reservoir on the Olifants River, near Marble Hall, Limpopo, South Africa. It was established in 1987 and is named after activist Flag Boshielo. See also *List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa *List of rivers of ...

Phalaborwa Barrage Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Ga- ...

Mozambique

Massingir Dam & Flooding of Olifants Gorge
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References

External links

The Olifants River Basin, South AfricaSouth African Geographical Names
{{Authority control Rivers of Mpumalanga Rivers of Limpopo Tributaries of the Limpopo River