Nata River

The Nata River or Manzamnyama River is a natural watercourse in Southern Africa. It is an ephemeral river flowing in Zimbabwe and Botswana. It has a length of 330 km from its source to mouth, 210 km in Zimbabwe and 120 km in Botswana. Its total catchment area is 24,585 km². The river originates in Sandown (S20.425036˚, E28.180660˚), a small farming town located on the Zimbabwean central watershed 50 km south west of Bulawayo and ends in the Makgadikgadi Pans (S20.348816˚, E26.240166˚) in Botswana. There is no outlet from the salt pans which can be considered as the “dead sea” of the south. The upper reaches of the river are located in a commercial farming area where good environmental and farming practices have resulted in the river experiencing very little siltation/sedimentation. Impressive sedimentation starts occurring about 65 km along the river course marking the beginning of a 90 km stretch in Zimbabwe where the river passes through communal farming areas. It is on this stretch where the sand-abstraction potential of the river is realised and communities rely on the sand river water for domestic, farming and livestock purposes. Within the country of Botswana the Nata River is a source of water to the ephemeral wetlands of the Makgadikgadi Pans, where a number of species of limited distribution thrive.[1] Specifically the Nata River discharges to Sua Pan, draining parts of eastern Botswana and southwestern Zimbabwe.