Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)

Buffalo River
Buffalo River at Rorke's Drift
Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal) is located in South Africa
Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)
Location of the Buffalo River's mouth
Native nameMzinyathi (Zulu)
Location
CountrySouth Africa
StateKwaZulu-Natal
Physical characteristics
SourceNear Majuba Hill
 • locationDrakensberg
Mouth 
 • location
Tugela River
 • coordinates
28°42′59″S 30°38′30″E / 28.716358°S 30.641768°E / -28.716358; 30.641768
 • elevation
465 metres (1,526 ft)
Length426 km (265 mi)
Basin size13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi)

The Buffalo River (Zulu: uMzinyathi; Afrikaans: Buffelsrivier) is the largest tributary of the Tugela River in South Africa. With a total length of 426 km (265 mi), its source is in Majuba Hill, "Hill of Doves" in the Zulu language, located northeast of Volksrust, close to the Mpumalanga / KwaZulu-Natal border. It follows a southerly route into KwaZulu-Natal past Newcastle then turns southeast past Rorke's Drift, before joining the Tugela River[1] at Ngubevu near Nkandla. During the nineteenth century it formed part of the boundary between the Colony of Natal and Zululand.

The Buffalo River has a number of tributaries, including the Ingagane from the SW and the Blood River from the NE, which it joins near Kandi Mountain.[2] Rorke's Drift is a ford across the Buffalo River which is one of the famous places of the 1878-79 Anglo-Zulu War and Isandhlwana is another important place of that war located about 20 km SE of the river, not far from the confluence with the Tugela.[citation needed]