The Mzimkulu River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

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 ...

. In the past, the Mzimkulu formed part of the border between

Eastern Cape 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 ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

provinces. Presently this river is part of the

Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area Mvoti to Umzimkulu WMA, or Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area (coded: 11), Includes the following major rivers: the Mvoti River, uThongathi River, Mdloti River, uMdloti River, Ohlanga River, Umgeni River, Mngeni River, Sterkspruit River, Lov ...

. In late

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''. February is the third a ...

of every year, the river is host to one of South Africa's most popular canoe races, the Drak Challenge.

Course

It rises in the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...

mountains just north of Rhino Peak, with the source being on 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. It flows southeast towards 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), ...

, which it enters through 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 ...

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, Margate and is positioned 120&nbs ...

. Its main tributary is the Bisi River which joins its right bank about halfway down its course. Towns on the

Umzimkulu Umzimkhulu is a town in Harry Gwala District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The town lies 243 km north-east of Mthatha, 18 km south-west of Ixopo, and 108 km south south-west of Pietermaritzburg, the provin ...

include

Underberg Underberg is a digestif bitter produced at Rheinberg in Germany by Underberg AG. It is made from aromatic herbs from 43 countries that undergo inspections and are formulated based on a secret recipe of the Underberg family, whose members are ...

and

Umzimkhulu Umzimkhulu is a town in Harry Gwala District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The town lies 243 km north-east of Mthatha, 18 km south-west of Ixopo, and 108 km south south-west of Pietermaritzburg, the provi ...

Ecology

The

scaly yellowfish The scaly yellowfish, or KwaZulu-Natal yellowfish, (''Labeobarbus natalensis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. This fish is found in the Tugela River System in South Africa, as well as in the Umzimkulu, Umfolozi and ...

''(Labeobarbus natalensis)'' is a fish found in the Umzimkulu River System as well as in the

Umgeni The Umgeni River or Mgeni River () is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It rises in the "Dargle" in the KZN Midlands, and its mouth is at Durban, some distance north of Durban's natural harbour. It is generally agreed its name means "the ...

, Umkomazi,

Thukela The Tugela River (; ) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , and a drop of 1370 metres in the lower 480 km, it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in Mo ...

and the Umfolozi. It is a common

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species in

Province and it lives in different habitats between the

foothills and the coastal lowlands.

References

External links

Water Services Planning Reference Framework – Water Resource Perspectives
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast Rivers of KwaZulu-Natal Internal borders of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-river-stub

Course

Ecology

See also

References

External links