This river flows from the eastern side of the Waterberg Massif northeastwards through a wide flooded plain as the Nyl River. After about 80 km it starts bending northwards and its name changes to Mogalakwena. Then it flows across Limpopo Province until it joins the right bank of the Limpopo River at the South Africa/Botswana border.[3]
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.[4] In 2016 the river had the least water in living memory, and villagers at Bokwidi had to dig in the sand to find water for their livestock.[5]
There are 8 dams in the Mogalakwena basin.[6] The highest concentration of hippopotamus in the Limpopo River is found between the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena Rivers.[7]
Tributaries
The Little Mogalakwena (or Motse) River near Marken, Limpopo, is a left bank tributary of the Mogalakwena
The upper or southernmost stretch of the Mogalakwena River is the Nyl River, known for its wide flood-plain, also known as the Nyl pan (Afrikaans: Nylsvlei). The flood-plain is partially conserved in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve,[8] and incorporates one of the largest single ecosystems in South Africa for aquatic birds.[9]
The region constitute of rich heritage of Bantu and San chiefdoms. with mainly the Transvaal Ndebele of Langa people constituting of the largest ethnic group in the catchment of the river, followed by the bapedi of Puka-Phokela, Lebelo kgomo and Tsonga people Nkuna. Lastly The Kattea, a little-known nomadic people akin to the San, used to live in the lands alongside the lower Mogalakwena. By 1905 however, they had been reduced to a few hundred individuals.
^Walton, Christopher (ed.); O'Hagan, Tim (1984). Reader's Digest Atlas of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Reader's Digest Association South Africa. pp. 190–191, 194. ISBN0-947-008-02-0. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
