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General |
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The
Thukela system is situated in KwaZulu-Natal, approximately midway
between
Richards
Bay
and
Durban. The Thukela is the largest river system
in KwaZulu-Natal. The river is approximately 405 km long with a catchment area of 29,101km2.
(Ref. 2) |
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Zulu meaning
(Ref.1):
All meanings
presumably refer to the flood characteristics of the system.
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Location
(co-ordinates) |
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29°13'S;
30°30'E |
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Based
on the classification by Whitfield (1992), the Thukela Estuary is one
of only two
examples of an
open river mouth estuarine system in
South Africa
. The estuary is situated
approximately
100 km north of the city of
Durban
on the east coast of
South Africa
(29.22°S,
30.50°E). The Thukela system forms a very important component of
water resource
utilisation in
South Africa
with a number of large interbasin transfer schemes responsible for
transferring
water from the Thukela basin across the escarpment into the
Vaal
River
system
(Davies
and Snaddon 2000). (Ref.3) |
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The
total catchment area is approximately 29,100 km2 and the
Thukela
River
originates in the Drakekensberg mountains (Ref.1). From the Drakensberg
mountain range
the river meanders for 520 km through the
KwaZulu-Natal
midlands before
flowing
into the
Indian Ocean
. (Ref 3) |
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Map
of the Thukela Estuary |
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Dimensions |
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