Umfolozi River

Umfolozi River
Satellite image of the Umfolozi and Hluhluwe River rivers converging at the St. Lucia estuary in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in northern KwaZulu-Natal
Location of the Umfolozi River mouth
Native name	imFolozi (Zulu)
Location
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
Physical characteristics
Mouth
• location	KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• coordinates	28°23′32″S 32°25′27″E / 28.39222°S 32.42417°E / -28.39222; 32.42417

The Umfolozi River (also uMfolozi, Imfolozi or Mfolozi) is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Black (Imfolozi emnyama) and White Umfolozi (Imfolozi emhlope) Rivers near the southeastern boundary of the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve. The isiZulu name imFolozi is generally considered to describe the zigzag course followed by both tributaries, though other explanations have been given.^[1]

The river flows in an easterly direction to the Indian Ocean at Maphelana, a coastal resort just south of the St Lucia River mouth. It originally meandered over the Monzi Flats, where it split into numerous slow-flowing channels before entering the St. Lucia Estuary at Honeymoon Bend. The slow-moving water and reed beds in channels operated as a natural filtering system that removed silt from the Umfolozi floodwaters and created a rich habitat for numerous species.