| Tugela Thukela | |
|---|---|
 The Tugela River with the Amphitheatre in the background | |
 The course of the Tugela river, from the west to the east border of KwaZulu-Natal. | |
| Native name | Thukela |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Towns | Bergville, Colenso |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Drakensberg |
| • coordinates | 28°45′00″S 28°53′45″E / 28.75000°S 28.89583°E |
| Mouth | Indian Ocean |
• coordinates | 29°13′26″S 31°30′0″E / 29.22389°S 31.50000°E |
| Length | 560 km (350 mi) |
| Basin size | 29,100 km2 (11,200 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | |
| • right | |
The Tugela River (Zulu: Thukela; Afrikaans: Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of 560 km (350 mi), and a drop of 1 370 metres in the lower 480 km,[1] it is one of the most important rivers of the country.[2]
The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Drakensberg Mountains at an elevation of 3 282 metres[3] and plunges in five distinct free-leaping falls 947 metres down the Tugela Falls. The Mont-aux-Sources is also the origin of tributaries of two other major South African rivers, the Orange and the Caledon River. From the Drakensberg range, the Tugela follows a 560 km (350 mi) route through the KwaZulu-Natal midlands before flowing into the Indian Ocean.[4] The total catchment area is approximately 29,100 km2 (11,200 sq mi).[4] Land uses in the catchment are mainly rural subsistence farming and commercial forestry.
- ^ "Key rivers of South Africa - MyFundi".
- ^ "Key rivers of South Africa". MyFundi. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 364. This has a very detailed description of the river's course.
- ^ a b "Proposal to establishment a Catchment Management Agency for the Thukela Water Management Area - Appendix A" (PDF). Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. July 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-21.