Okavango River

Okavango River

The Okavango River, also known as the Cubango River, is an inland river in southern Africa and the fourth longest river in the region. It originates from the Bié Plateau in Angola, flows southeast through Namibia into Botswana, and finally disappears into the Okavango Delta. The Okavango River is often described as “the river that never finds the sea.” It is situated on a unique oasis at the northern edge of the Kalahari Desert. Rainwater from the highlands of Angola converges into powerful floodwaters, which the Okavango River carries into the delta. These waters spread out across an area of over 20,000 square kilometers, forming countless channels and lagoons.

The Okavango River is 1,600 kilometers long, with a drainage basin of 800,000 square kilometers and a discharge of 250 cubic meters at its mouth. Its main tributaries include the Cuito River and the Cubango River. Some of the southern tributaries eventually flow into Lake Ngami, while the northern tributaries join the Cuando River (a tributary of the Zambezi River). The upper reaches of the Okavango River pass through forested areas as it flows southward, becoming increasingly sparse in vegetation the further south it goes. Turning southeast, the river traverses arid grasslands dotted sporadically with acacia trees.

In the Okavango swamp region, there are primarily two types of vegetation: dense stands of papyrus and other aquatic plants that thrive along the riverbeds and floodplains, and smaller patches of woodland and dry grassland occupying the higher areas of the delta. The thick papyrus in the delta frequently blocks waterways, causing constant changes in the river’s flow direction. The Okavango River encompasses approximately 68,600 square kilometers of wetlands, providing a habitat for wildlife such as giraffes, antelopes, lions, elephants, leopards, zebras, hippos, as well as 72 species of small and medium-sized mammals, 95 species of amphibians and reptiles, and thousands of bird species.