Nzhelele River

Nzhelele River
File:Philip Herd Nature Reserve.jpg View of the Nzhelele River in the Philip Herd Nature Reserve
Nzhelele River is located in South Africa Nzhelele River Location of the Nzhelele River mouth
Etymology	Nzhelele meaning a falcon or an eagle that in ancient times followed elephant hunters and fed on the meat hanging in the trees to dry.
Location
Country	South Africa
State	Limpopo Province
Region	Dzanani
District	Vhembe
Municipality	Makhado
Physical characteristics
Source	Thathe Vondo
• location	Soutpansberg
• elevation	1,673 m (5,489 ft)
Mouth
• location	Limpopo River, South Africa/Zimbabwe border
• coordinates	22°21′08″S 30°22′19″E
• elevation	404 m (1,325 ft)
Basin size	3,436 km2 (1,327 sq mi)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Mutamba
• right	Mufungudi, Tshishiru

The Nzhelele River is a major watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The river's catchment area comprises 3,436 square kilometers.

Course

This river collects much of the drainage of the northern slopes of the extensive rock formation of the Soutpansberg. Leaving the mountainous area, it meanders in a northeastward direction across the Lowveld, a wide plain that contains considerable biodiversity, including numerous large mammals such as giraffes, white rhinos and blue wildebeests. It joins the right bank of the Limpopo River 33 km east of Musina. The Mutamba River, its main tributary, rises in the Buelgum Poort farm of the Soutpansberg, further west from the sources of the Nzhelele. Other tributaries are the Tshiruru River, Mugungudi River, Mutshedzi River and the Wyllie River.

Dams in the basin

• Nzhelele Dam
• Mutshedzi Dam, in the Mutshedzi River

See also

• Drainage basin A
• Limpopo Water Management Area
• List of rivers of South Africa

External links

• File:Commons-logo.svg Media related to Nzhelele River at Wikimedia Commons
• Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs) - Soutpansberg
• Limpopo WMA1
• Aventura Tshipise Resort & Restaurant