Limpopo, river in southeastern
Africa, rising as the Krokodil River in the mountainous
Witwatersrand region of northern South Africa. The Krokodil
flows northwest until it joins the Marico River at the Botswana
border. It then becomes the Limpopo and continues northeast along
the border between
Botswana
and South Africa, then east along the border between Zimbabwe and
South Africa. It flows southeast through southern Mozambique before
entering the Indian Ocean near Xai-Xai. The river is 1,800 km (1,100
mi) long and is navigable for 210 km (130 mi) from the mouth.
Irrigation projects have been built on it in South Africa and
Mozambique.
Limpopo River Mouth
The Limpopo River wends its way from the South African- Zimbabwe border to just south of the town of Xai-Xai where it empties its muddied contents into the Indian Ocean.
In 1891, Cecil John Rhodes sent a 100-ton steamer called the Countess of Caravan up the lower reaches of this river, hoping to curry favour with the local king so Rhodes could use the river as an outlet for Rhodesia. He delivered the rifles successfully, returning only to have the boat impounded by the Portuguese. He was forced to abandon his interest in the area.
These days the glimmering wood-and-thatch Zongoene Lodge dominates the southern bank at the mouth, offering accommodation and a variety of activities. The lodge has its own private airstrip, making it a convenient fly-in destination.
Limpopo Basin profile
Statistics and background information
- Catchment area: Around 413,000 km²
- Rainfall: Average 530 mm per annum. Range: 200-1,200 mm
- Evaporation: Average. 1,970 mm per annum. Range: 800-2,400 mm per annum)
- Runoff: 5.5 x 109 m³ per annum or 13 mm per annum
- Water transfers: Water is transferred into the basin under 6 separate transfer schemes
- Irrigation: Present. 244,000 ha. Potential: 122,000 ha in selected sub-catchments. Current overdevelopment, where demand exceeds water availability is 70,000 ha
- Other land use (dryland): Crops: 234,000 ha. Pastures: 1,780,000 ha. Forestry: 455,000 ha
- Population: 14 million
- Poverty indicators: Poverty rate: 75%. Pretoria, 75% and Mozambique flood plains, 34%.Average = 52%
- Population dynamics: Within 4 years 10% of the population are expected to abandon their homes and migrate southwards and up to 10% of those remaining will die from aids-related illnesses
Main issues in the Limpopo
A short and intense rainy season, with highly unreliable rainfall leads to frequent droughts. Crop production is not secure.
On major reaches of the Limpopo and many of its tributaries, the flow of water in the river in dry years can occur for 40 days or less.
When the rivers do flow, river water can contain up to 30% sand and silt. Large areas of land are seriously degraded. Other issues include:
- Difficulty in obtaining development capital
- Insufficient training and support services for small-scale farmers
- Political instability
- Land piracy in certain areas, and
- Land mines in parts of Mozambique seriously hindering farming
Over utilisation of water resources and pollution arising from high-density urban settlements, mining and other industrial development are seen to have an impact on the social, economic, political and natural environments downstream.
It is necessary to study and quantify these effects