Shashe River Crossing Bridge In Mathangwane
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The Shashe River (or Shashi River) is a major left-bank 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 ...
in
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. It rises northwest of
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 ...
,
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
and flows into the Limpopo River where Botswana, Zimbabwe and
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 ...
meet.Shashe Sub-basin
The confluence is at the site of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area.


Hydrology

The Shashe is a highly
ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
river, with flow generally restricted to a few days of the year. The river contributes 12.2% of the mean annual runoff of the Limpopo Basin. Major tributaries of the Shashe River include the Simukwe, Shashani, Thuli, Tati and
Ramokgwebana Ramokgwebana is a village in the North-East District of Botswana, close to the eastern border, which is defined by the Ramokgwebana River. Plumtree, Zimbabwe is on the other side of the border crossing. The village is connected to Francistown t ...
rivers. The lower Shashe is a sand filled channel, with extensive alluvial
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
s in the river channel and below the
alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
plains. These supply water for a number of
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
schemes including
Sibasa Sibasa is a village in Limpopo Province, South Africa and the former capital city of Venda bantustan. When Venda was declared independent in 1979, the capital was moved to Ṱhohoyanḓou. The town is 72 km north-north-east of Louis Tri ...
and
Shashi Shashi may refer to: Places and jurisdictions China * Shashi City (), Hubei from 1949 to 1994 *Shashi District (), Jingzhou, Hubei (historically, Shashi City) since 1994 ** Apostolic Prefecture of Shashi ** Jingmen–Shashi railway, single-tr ...
. More than two million years ago, the Upper
Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...
used to flow south through what is now the
Makgadikgadi Pan The Makgadikgadi Pan ( Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadi ...
(presently a vast seasonal wetland) to the Shashe River and thence 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 ...
.


Settlements

There is a road bridge and a rail bridge south of
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 ...
. The lower Shashe River forms the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe and is unbridged. However, at Tuli, both sides of the river are in Zimbabwe and there are two legal crossing points. The Shashi runs through the Shashi Irrigation Scheme and the Tuli Block.


Dams

The Shashe River is dammed near Francistown at
Shashe Dam The Shashe Dam is a dam on the Shashe River in Botswana that was built to supply water to the industrial city of Selebi-Phikwe. The large village of Tonota lies just south of the dam. Location and capacity The dam impounds the Shashe River and ...
. The original purpose was to supply water to the industrial city 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 ...
. In 1982 it was found that groundwater from the local wells in Francistown had high levels of nitrate, and was also inadequate to meet public demand, so the public water supply for that city was changed over to using water from the Shashe Dam. The dam also supplies water to surrounding villages, Phoenix Mine (Tati Nickel Mining Company/Norilsk Nickel) and Mupane Gold Mine (IAMGOLD). Further downstream, the
Dikgatlhong Dam The Dikgatlhong Dam is a dam near the village of Robelela on the Shashe River in Botswana, completed in December 2011. When full, it holds of water. The next largest dam in Botswana, the Gaborone Dam, has a capacity of . Purpose The dam is ...
impounds the Shashe near the village of Robelela, completed in December 2011. When full it will hold . The next largest dam in Botswana, the
Gaborone Dam The Gaborone Dam is a dam on the Notwane River in Botswana with a capacity of . The dam is operated by the Water Utilities Corporation, and supplies water to the capital city of Gaborone. Location The Gaborone Dam is located south of Gaborone ...
, has capacity of . A pipeline from the Dikgatlhong Dam will connect to the
North-South Carrier The North-South Carrier (NSC) is a pipeline in Botswana that carries raw water south for a distance of to the capital city of Gaborone. Phase 1 was completed in 2000. Phase 2 of the NSC, under construction, will duplicate the pipeline to carry w ...
(NSC) pipeline at the BPT1 break pressure tank at
Moralane Moralane is a key site on the North-South Carrier (NSC), in Botswana, the main pipeline delivering raw water from the northeast to the Mmamashia water treatment plant just north of Gaborone. Phase 1 of the NSC opened in 2000, delivering water f ...
. The NSC will take the water south to
Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...
.


See also

* Geological changes to the course of the Zambezi River * Mathangwane Village *
Thuli River The Thuli River, former name Tuli River, is a major tributary of the Shashe River in Zimbabwe. It rises near Matopo Mission, Matobo District, and flows into the Shashe River near Tuli village. Hydrology The Thuli is an ephemeral river, with ...


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{Rivers of Zimbabwe Rivers of Botswana International rivers of Africa Botswana–Zimbabwe border Geography of Matabeleland South Province Tributaries of the Limpopo River Lowest points of countries