|
The Okavango River is a river in southwest Africa. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for . It begins in Angola, where it is known as the Cubango River. Further south it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana, draining into the Moremi Game Reserve. Before it enters Botswana, the river drops four metres, across the full 1.2 km-width of the river, in a series of rapids known as Popa Falls, visible when the river is low, as during the dry season.〔Siyabona Africa Travel (Pty) Ltd, "Popa Falls | Okavango River | Botswana" webpage: (TravelZA-PopaFalls )〕 Discharging to an endorheic basin, the Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it empties into a swamp in the Kalahari Desert, known as the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan. In the rainy season there is an outflow to the Boteti River which in turn seasonally discharges to the Makgadikgadi Pans, which features an expansive area of rainy season wetland where tens of thousands of flamingos congregate each summer.〔C. Michael Hogan (2008) ''Makgadikgadi'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham ()〕 Part of the river's flow fills Lake Ngami. Noted for its wildlife, the Okavango area contains Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve. During colder periods in Earth's history, a part of the Kalahari was a massive lake, known as Lake Makgadikgadi. In this time, the Okavango would have been one of its largest tributaries. == Water conflict == Both Namibia and Botswana experience drought and as a result of this, there have been concerns about possible conflict over use of the river's water. Namibia has built a water canal, measuring about 300 km long, and has proposed a project to build a 250 km pipeline to divert water from the river into Namibia to help relieve the drought. Botswana, however uses the Okavango Delta for both tourism income and a water source. The Department of Water Affairs in Botswana has submitted that 97% of the water in the river is lost through evaporation, so the country cannot afford to lose any extra water. Namibia, in turn, has argued that it will only divert half a percent of the river's flow, and that it is entitled to any water that flows through its country. To deal with such issues, in 1994 Angola, Namibia and Botswana signed an agreement to form the (Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) ), to provide advice to the three countries about the best ways to share the Okavango River's resources. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Okavango River」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|