KEURBOOMS RIVER: Overview

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Map of the Keurbooms River

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The Keurbooms River mouth is situated at 34° 02’S; 23° 23’E (Ref. 1).  It is located in the Western Province near the coastal town of Plettenberg Bay .  The total length of the Keurbooms River from its mouth to its origin at Spitskop, in the Outeniqua Mountains , is approximately 85km (Ref. 10).  The Keurbooms catchment is estimated at 1 080 km2 (Ref. 2).
The name was given to the river by Le Vaillant during his travels in 1782 (Storrar, 1982).  The name originates from the pioneer tree, Virgilis divaricata, commonly known as the keurboom, which occurs on the fringes of the forests and is very impressive when in flower.  Keur means 'choice' or 'pick' so that the common name means "pick of the trees" (Palmer and Pitman, 1972). (Ref 1)
Its major tributary is the Bitou River , which joins the Keurbooms River 1,5km from the mouth.  The Keurbooms River forms an estuary before its mouth into the Indian Ocean .  Other tributaries draining into the Keurbooms River include the Hartbees, Duiwelsgat, Palmiet, Klein, Diep, Witels, Kwaai, Peters, Bos and Kykoerie rivers, of which the Palmiet River is the largest.  Several smaller tributaries drain into the Palmiet before it reaches the Keurbooms River .  These tributaries drain the Langkloof and Tsitsikamma Mountains and join the Keurbooms River approximately 15km from the estuary mouth.  (Ref. 2)
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  References                                      

Ref 1:Duvenhage, I.R. and Morant, P.D. (1984). Estuaries of the Cape Part II: Synopses of available information on individual systems.  Report No. 31 Keurbooms/Bitou System (CMS 19) Piesang (CMS18).  CSIR Research Report 430. 64pp.

Ref 2:Reddering, J.S.V. (1981).  The sedimentology of the Keurbooms Estuary.  M.Sc. thesis. University of Port Elizabeth .  Geology Department

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