Changane River

Changane River
River
Course and Watershed of the Limpopo River.
Country	Mozambique
Tributaries
- right	Buabuassi, Chingovo, Panzene, Sangutane, Chichacuarre
Source
- elevation	552 m (1,811 ft)
Mouth	Limpopo River
- elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Basin	65,570.55 km2 (25,317 sq mi)

Coordinates: 24°43′58″S 33°32′16″E / 24.73278°S 33.53778°E / -24.73278; 33.53778

The Changane River (Rio Changane) is a river in Mozambique, a tributary to the Limpopo River which it joins near the coast, just past the town of Chibuto. It forms part of the eastern boundary of Gaza Province. The Changane is the easternmost tributary of the Limpopo, entering it from the left near its mouth on the Indian Ocean

The Changane and its main tributaries rise close to the border with Zimbabwe. The river runs southwards roughly along the 34°E line of longitude from about 22°S to about 24°S latitude. The river drains the wetlands of Banhine National Park. The basin covers 6,557,055 hectares (25,316.93 sq mi), or about 15.9% of the Limpopo Basin. The river mainly flows through a dry region. In the interior, annual rainfall is as low as 400 millimetres (16 in), rising to 800 millimetres (31 in) near the coast. The Changane River Valley is near sea level, and was once a beach line. The Changane has a very low runoff coefficient and long periods with no discharge at all.

The Changane Valley holds scattered saline wetlands and seasonally flooded grasslands with islands of Acacia nilotica kraussiana. It is usually semi-arid, but in the late 1990s rainfall increased dramatically, causing widespread and devastating flooding. 500 millimetres (20 in) of rain fell in only 3 days in March 2000. The more frequently flooded areas have higher salinity. They are dominated by salt-tolerant grasslands with extensive bare patches.

18 species of fish have been found in the Banhine National Park towards the north of the valley. The African lungfish, two killifish species and two Barbel species have developed ways to deal with drought, since the wetlands are sometimes completely dry on the surface. The Banhine National Park used to be home to buffalo, sable, tsetsebe, hartebeest, zebra, and wildebeest. Many of these animals were destroyed during the civil wars of the 1980s and early 1990s. However, the park is still home to endangered wattled cranes and to many migratory birds. Results of an aerial survey in October 2004 showed that the park had healthy populations of ostrich, kudu, impala, reedbuck, duiker, steenbok, porcupine, warthog and oribi.