Nzhelele River

Nzhelele River
River
Name origin: Nzhelele meaning a falcon or an eagle that in ancient times followed elephant hunters and fed on the meat hanging in the trees to dry.
Country	South Africa
State	Limpopo Province
Region	Dzanani
District	Vhembe
Municipality	Makhado
Tributaries
- left	Mutamba
- right	Mufungudi, Tshishiru
Source	Thathe Vondo
- location	Soutpansberg
- elevation	1,673 m (5,489 ft)
Mouth
- location	Limpopo River, South Africa/Zimbabwe border
- elevation	404 m (1,325 ft)
- coordinates	22°21′08″S 30°22′19″E / 22.35222°S 30.37194°E / -22.35222; 30.37194Coordinates: 22°21′08″S 30°22′19″E / 22.35222°S 30.37194°E / -22.35222; 30.37194
Basin	2,436 km2 (941 sq mi)
Location of the Nzhelele River mouth

The Nzhelele River is a major watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The river's catchment area comprises 2,436 square kilometers.

This river collects much of the drainage of the northern slopes of the extensive rock formation of the Soutpansberg. Leaving the mountainous area, it meanders in a northeastward direction across the Lowveld, a wide plain that contains considerable biodiversity, including numerous large mammals such as giraffes, white rhinos and blue wildebeests. It joins the right bank of the Limpopo River 33 km east of Musina.

The Mutamba River, its main tributary, rises in the Buelgum Poort farm of the Soutpansberg, further west from the sources of the Nzhelele. Other tributaries are the Tshiruru River, Mugungudi River, Mutshedzi River and the Wyllie River.