Limpopo River

The Limpopo River is a long and important river that starts in South Africa and flows eastward into Mozambique before reaching the Indian Ocean. It is about 1,750 kilometers (1,090 miles) long and drains a very large area of 415,000 square kilometers (160,000 square miles). The amount of water it carries each year changes, but it usually flows between 170 and 313 cubic meters every second.

The first European to see the river was Vasco da Gama in 1498. He named it Rio do Espírito Santo, meaning 'River of the Holy Spirit'. Later explorers also traveled along the river. Today, some local communities call it the Vhembe, a name now used by the South African government for one of its districts.

Over millions of years, the area drained by the Limpopo River has changed. In the past, part of the Zambezi River also flowed into the Limpopo. But the land shifted, and now the water goes into the Zambezi instead. These changes happened because the Earth's surface moved slowly over time.

Course

The Limpopo River flows in a big curve. It starts by going north, then turns north-east, and finally heads east and south-east. For about 640 kilometres, it marks the border between South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The river gets its name where the Marico River and the Crocodile River meet. Along its path, there are several fast-flowing sections where the river drops down from the higher land of Southern Africa.

Important smaller rivers flow into the Limpopo, such as the Notwane River from Botswana and the Olifants River, which adds a lot of water each year. Other rivers joining it include the Shashe, Mzingwane, Crocodile, Mwenezi, and Luvuvhu Rivers. In South Africa, the river runs along the edge of Kruger National Park. The town of Xai-Xai in Mozambique sits near where the river meets the sea. Below the Olifants River, small boats can travel along the Limpopo to the ocean, but a sandbar blocks bigger ships except during high tide.

Tributaries

Basin characteristics

The Limpopo River flows slowly and carries a lot of silt. A famous storybook author once described it as a wide, greenish river with tall trees growing along its banks. The rain that feeds the river comes only at certain times of the year and can be very uneven. In dry years, the upper parts of the river may flow for only 40 days or even less. The land near the river starts in a very dry desert area but becomes less dry as you move downstream. The middle part of the river runs past a forested mountain area with only a few people living there. The lower parts of the river are fertile and support many more people — about 14 million live in the area where the river flows. Sometimes, when it rains a lot, the river can flood and cause problems for people living along it.

The Limpopo River is home to many hippos, especially between two smaller rivers called the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena. There is also a lot of mining happening in the area around the river, with many working mines and even more that are no longer in use.

History

Vasco da Gama was likely one of the first Europeans to see the Limpopo River when he stopped near its mouth in 1498. People have lived in this area for a very long time—fossils found near Mokopane are from Australopithecus and are over 3.5 million years old. In 1868–69, St Vincent Whitshed Erskine, who later became the surveyor general for South Africa, visited the river’s mouth.

In July 1950, a Zambezi shark was caught far up the river where it meets the Luvuvhu River. These sharks can live in fresh water and travel far. In 2013, about 15,000 Nile crocodiles were accidentally let into the river from a nearby farm.