Umfolozi River
| Umfolozi River | |
|---|---|
Satellite image of the Umfolozi and Hluhluwe River rivers converging at the St. Lucia estuary in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in northern KwaZulu-Natal | |
| Native name | imFolozi (Zulu) |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• location | KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
• coordinates | 28°23′32″S 32°25′27″E / 28.39222°S 32.42417°E |
The Umfolozi River (also uMfolozi, Imfolozi or Mfolozi) is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Black (Imfolozi emnyama) and White Umfolozi (Imfolozi emhlope) Rivers near the southeastern boundary of the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve. The isiZulu name imFolozi is generally considered to describe the zigzag course followed by both tributaries, though other explanations have been given.
The river flows in an easterly direction to the Indian Ocean at Maphelana, a coastal resort just south of the St Lucia River mouth. It originally meandered over the Monzi Flats, where it split into numerous slow-flowing channels before entering the St. Lucia Estuary at Honeymoon Bend. The slow-moving water and reed beds in channels operated as a natural filtering system that removed silt from the Umfolozi floodwaters and created a rich habitat for numerous species.