- Also called:
- Kubango River
Okavango River
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What is the Okavango River?
The Okavango River, also known as the Kubango in Angola, is southern Africa's fourth-longest river system. Beginning in central Angola, it runs southeast for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to Botswana's Kalahari Desert, where it ends in the Okavango Swamp, a vast inland delta. The river gets its name from Namibia's Okavango (Kavango) people. The river's resources are mostly unused, and its banks are sparsely inhabited. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve protects a portion of the Okavango Swamp's northeastern corner and its diverse wildlife.
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Where is the Okavango River located in Africa?
The Okavango River is the fourth longest river system in southern Africa. It runs for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from central Angola, where it is known as the Kubango, to the Kalahari in northern Botswana, where it ends in the Okavango Swamp, an immense inland delta. The river passes through woodland that transitions to dry savanna as it moves south. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve, which is home to diverse wildlife, covers 1,463 sq miles (3,788 sq km) of the northeastern corner of the Okavango Swamp.
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What are the main countries the Okavango River flows through?
The Okavango River, also known as Kubango in Angola, runs for 1,600 km from central Angola to the Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana. The river flows southeastward through Angola, where it originates on the Bié Plateau. Along its middle course, the Okavango River forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia. After the Kwito River joins as its largest tributary, the Okavango River crosses Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and enters Botswana. The river terminates in an immense inland delta known as the Okavango Swamp.
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Why is the Okavango River important for wildlife?
The Okavango River is vital for wildlife because it flows into the northern part of the Kalahari Desert, forming an immense inland delta known as the Okavango Swamp. This creates a unique environment with dense papyrus reeds and aquatic plants, as well as woodland and savanna in higher areas, supporting diverse species. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve, located in the northeastern corner of the Okavango Swamp, is home to lions, cheetahs, buffalo, and various bird and fish species.
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What is the Okavango Delta, and how is it formed by the river?
The Okavango Delta is a unique inland delta in northern Botswana, formed where the Okavango River terminates in the Kalahari Desert. The river, originating in central Angola as the Kubango, travels approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeastward.
As the Okavango River enters Botswana, it widens and spreads out into a flat, swampy area, creating a triangular-shaped delta. This delta covers about 6,500 square miles (16,800 square km), with less than half being permanent swamp. The Okavango's water resources remain largely unused, and its banks are sparsely settled. Most of the delta's area is flooded during the rainy season. Drainage through the marshes of the Okavango Delta is complex and not fully understood.
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How do people and animals depend on the Okavango River for survival?
The Okavango River is crucial for the survival of both people and animals in its region. It runs for 1,000 miles from Angola to the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, where it forms the Okavango Swamp.
The river's resources, though largely unused, are essential to the Tswana people living in the Okavango delta. Nearly all settlements in Namibia's Kavango region are near the river. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve, within the Okavango Swamp, is home to diverse wildlife, including lions, cheetahs, buffalo, hippos, and various bird species. The river supports fish like bream and tiger fish, which are food sources for both humans and animals.
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Okavango River, fourth longest river system in southern Africa, running basically southeastward for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from central Angola, where it is known as the Kubango, to the Kalahari (desert) in northern Botswana, where the river terminates in an immense inland delta known as the Okavango Swamp. The river—formerly sometimes called the Okovango—takes its name from the Okavango (Kavango) people of northern Namibia. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, and the first European known to have seen the Okavango, reached its swampy delta in 1849.
The Okavango River rises as the Kubango just south of Vila Nova, Angola, on the Bié Plateau, at an elevation of 5,840 feet (1,780 metres). It flows south and then southeastward through Angola in a course that is initially broken by rapids. Along its middle course the Okavango forms part of the Angola-Namibia border. After being joined by its largest tributary, the Kwito River, the Okavango River then crosses Namibia’s narrow Caprivi Strip to enter Botswana.
Soon after entering Botswana the Okavango begins to widen as it enters the flat, swampy tract in which it terminates. About 70 miles inside Botswana, the river spreads out to form a triangular-shaped delta, the base of which extends for about 150 miles (240 km). This delta region, less than half of which is swamp year-round, covers an area of about 6,500 square miles (16,800 square km). Most of the delta’s area is inundated during the rainy season. The river is subject to drastic changes in flow along its length because of seasonal variations, the reception of tributaries, evaporation, and absorption into the riverbed.
In its uppermost course, the Okavango flows through woodland country that becomes less densely forested as the river progresses southward. Further to the southeast, the river passes through areas occupied by dry savanna, i.e., grassland with scattered acacia trees. In the Okavango Swamp itself, the vegetation falls into two main types—dense clumps of papyrus reeds and other aquatic plants in the river and floodplain channels; and patches of woodland and savanna occupying the slightly higher parts of the delta. In the delta the dense growth of papyrus reeds is continually blocking the river’s channels, thus changing the pattern of flow.
Although the Okavango brings water to a parched land, the river’s resources remain largely unused, and its banks are only sparsely settled. Except for small craft, the Okavango is virtually unnavigable. A major problem for the Tswana (Batswana) people, the main inhabitants of the Okavango delta, has been control of the tsetse fly.
The Moremi Wildlife Reserve covers 1,463 sq miles (3,788 sq km) of the northeastern corner of the Okavango Swamp. Its teeming wildlife includes lions, cheetahs, buffalo, wildebeests, hippopotamuses, zebras, wild dogs, crocodiles, and other species. Birds include storks, ibis, herons, egrets, cranes, and weaver birds. There are also numbers of ducks, geese, and quail. Varieties of fish include bream, pike, barbels, and tiger fish.