Pongola River

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox river | name = Pongola River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = uPhongolo | name_etymology = From the Zulu for 'trough-like', 'river of troughs', referring to long pools.<ref name="Raper1989">{{cite book|last=Raper|first=P. E. |title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names | url=https://archive.org/stream/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames/SaPlaceNames#page/n363/mode/2up|year=1989|publisher=Jonathan Ball Publishers|isbn=978-0-947464-04-2|page=363|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>  | image = Pongola river in Eswatini.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Pongola river, immediately below Pongolapoort Dam | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = South Africa | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the Pongola River mouth  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = South Africa, Mozambique | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length = | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max =  | source1 = | source1_location = Near Utrecht, South Africa | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = Maputo River | mouth_location = Maputo Province, Mozambique | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|26|51|21|S|32|20|47|E|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = {{convert|29|m|abbr=on}} | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }} The '''Pongola River''' is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through oPhongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows north towards Mozambique, joining the Maputo River.<ref>{{citation|first=Lani|last= van Vuuren |title=Darlington Dam: Development Steeped in Controversy |periodical=The Water Wheel |volume=8 |issue=3 |publisher=South African Water Research Commission |publication-place=Gezina |pages=23–27 |issn=0258-2244 |date= May 2009 |url=http://www.wrc.org.za/Knowledge%20Hub%20Documents/Water%20Wheel/Articles/2009/WW_09_may-jun_08_Pongola_p_23-27.pdf |access-date=2010-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719053557/http://www.wrc.org.za/Knowledge%20Hub%20Documents/Water%20Wheel/Articles/2009/WW_09_may-jun_08_Pongola_p_23-27.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>

Its main tributaries are the Bivane River and the Mozana River in South Africa, as well as the Ngwavuma in Eswatini.<ref name="dwaf">{{cite web|url=http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/rhp/eco/FROC/WMA6UsuthuMhlatuze.jpg| title=Usuthu/Mhlatuze WMA 6|publisher=Department of Water Affairs and Fisheries}}</ref>

The name of the uPhongolo River is derived from the isiZulu word for a barrel, vat, trough, or cask, referring to the deep and sometimes long pools that are found in this river.<ref>{{Cite book |last=P E Raper - HSRC |url=https://archive.org/details/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames/page/n363/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Umphongolo/Imiphongolo |url=https://isizulu.net/?umphongolo |access-date=22 February 2025 |website=isiZulu.net Zulu-English Dictionary}}</ref>

[[File:Phongolo River Valley (32047155390).jpg|thumb|none|upright=1.25|The Pongolo River winding through hills in and beyond the Ithala Game Reserve]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Maputo River Category:Rivers of KwaZulu-Natal