- Mngeni River
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The Mngeni River (
anglicised "Umgeni"), is a river inKwaZulu-Natal (KZN),South Africa . It rises in the "Dargle" in the KZN midlands, and its mouth is atDurban , some distance north of Durban's naturalharbour . The name is meant to mean "place of the Acacia trees" in isiZulu, though other meanings have been proposed.cite book|last = du Plessis|first = E.J.|title = Suid-Afrikaanse berg- en riviername|publisher = Tafelberg-uitgewers, Cape Town|date = 1973|pages = pp. 277, 278|isbn = 0-624-00273X] cite book|last = Raper|first = P.E.|title = South African Place Names|publisher = Jonathan Ball, Jhb & Cape Town|date = 2004|pages = p. 245|isbn = 1-86842-190-2]The river is approximately 232 km long with a catchment area of 4,432 km². There are 4 large dams on the Mgeni, they are the
Midmar Dam ,Albert Falls Dam , Nagle Dam andInanda Dam .It is assumed that
Vasco da Gama replenished his fleet's water supply at the Mngeni mouth on Christmas day, 1497, when he also named the region 'Natal'. The river then acquired the name "River of Natal". It was another 130 years beforeNathaniel Isaacs crossed the "Umgani" to visitShaka .Msunduzi tributary
A noteworthy tributary is the
Msunduzi River , which joins it between Nagle and Inanda dams. Higher up its course the Msunduzi (or 'Dusi' for short) passes through the KwaZulu-Natal capital Pietermaritzburg. A famous downriver race, theDusi Canoe Marathon takes place between the capital and Durban, attracting thousands of canoeists for the three-day event held in January every year.Notes
ee also
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List of rivers of South Africa
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