Tugela River

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 nameThukela
Location
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceKwaZulu-Natal
TownsBergville, Colenso
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationDrakensberg
 • coordinates28°45′00″S 28°53′45″E / 28.75000°S 28.89583°E / -28.75000; 28.89583
MouthIndian Ocean
 • coordinates
29°13′26″S 31°30′0″E / 29.22389°S 31.50000°E / -29.22389; 31.50000
Length560 km (350 mi)
Basin size29,100 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 1370 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 3282 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.

  1. ^ "Key rivers of South Africa - MyFundi".
  2. ^ "Key rivers of South Africa". MyFundi. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tugela" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 364. This has a very detailed description of the river's course.
  4. ^ 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.