Komati River

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Komati (English Komati River, port. rio Incomati ) is a power in Africa. It flows through South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique.

History and origin of the Komati

The Komati rises in the Drakensberg Mountains at an altitude of around 1500 meters above sea level in the area of Ermelo in Mpumalanga Province. It flows south of Barberton and is deflected on the eastern border of Swaziland to the north. From there it flows to the northeast and holds a parallel course to the Lebombobergen. Before reaching the mountain range of the Komati combined at Komatipoort with the Crocodile River and then flows through a 190 meter deep gorge that Komatipoort ( " Komatipforte " ), after which the town is named Komatipoort.

On the border between South Africa and Mozambique, the flow is less than 100 kilometers from the sea. However, the river does not take the direct route, but crosses the coastal plain in a wide arc of approximately 320 kilometers, first north and then south. From the north lead more tributaries in the Komati. At the mouth of the river forms extensive lagoons and flows around islands. The Komati reaching the Indian Ocean 24 km north of Maputo to a distance of about 800 kilometers in the Maputo Bay.

In the flood season there through the marshes a water-conducting connection with the basin of the Limpopo in the north.

Railway

The railway line from Maputo to Pretoria crosses the plain and reached at kilometer 72 of the Komati. Then it follows the south bank and reached the highlands near Komatipoort.

Economy

The Maguga Dam dams the river 12 kilometers south of the town of Piggs Peak in Swaziland. The dam is 115 meters high and was completed in September 2001.