The Maputo River (), also called Great Usutu River, Lusutfu River, or Suthu River, is a river in South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique. The name Suthu refers to Basotho people who lived near the source of the river, but were attacked and displaced by the Swazi people.
Course
The river rises near Amsterdam, Mpumalanga, South Africa, and flows easterly through Eswatini, where it enters the Lebombo Mountains. The 13 km gorge forms the boundary between Eswatini and South Africa. For approximately twenty kilometres, it forms the border between South Africa (province of
KwaZulu-Natal) and Mozambique. There, in the Ndumo Game Reserve, it absorbs its largest tributary, the
Pongola River. It then meanders through the Mozambican coastal plain and empties into southern
Maputo Bay, some 85 kilometres downstream.
In Eswatini, the river is called the Great Usutu or Lusutfu and flows through the towns of Bhunya, Luyengo, Siphofaneni, and Big Bend. The town of Big Bend is near a point in which the river abruptly. The Great Usutu is the largest river in Eswatini, it is the site of Eswatini's lowest point (21 m above sea level), and is known for whitewater rafting. No large towns have been able to form along its banks because of deep narrow valleys and dense forests. It is, however, home to some , , and .
Tributaries
From the origin to its mouth, in order, tributaries are the:
Sihanahana River, Bonnie Brook,
Mpuluzi River,
Buhlungu River,
Umvenvane River,
Lusushwana River,
Sidvokodvo River, Mkhondvo,
Mhlamani River,
Mzimneni River,
Mzimphofu River, Mhlathuzane, Mtsindzekwa,
Nyetane River,
Funuane River, and the Pongola Rivers.
[ Usuthu/Mhlatuze WMA 6]
Dams on this river
See also
-
List of rivers of South Africa
External links
