Limpopo
When it comes to the longest rivers in Zimbabwe people often mention The Limpopo River. It originated in South Africa and runs mainly eastward to the Indian Ocean through Mozambique. The name Limpopo comes from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a tribe of Tsonga immigrants commanded by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the surrounding mountains and called the area after their commander. The river is about 1,750 kilometers (1,087 miles) long, having a drainage basin that is 415,000 square kilometers (160,200 square miles). At its mouth, the average discharge throughout a year is 170 m3 (6,000 cu ft; 170,000 l; 44,900 US gal). After the Zambezi, the Limpopo River is Africa's second-biggest river that flows into the Indian Ocean.
Vasco da Gama was the first European to see the river, anchoring outside its mouth in 1498 and naming it the Espirito Santo River. St Vincent Whitshed Erskine examined its lower channel in 1868–69, and Captain J F Elton traveled along its middle course in 1870.
The Limpopo River's drainage area has shrunk throughout geological time. The upper stream of the Zambezi River poured into the Limpopo River until the Late Pliocene or Pleistocene. The drainage split shifted due to epeirogenic activity that rose the surface north of the present-day Limpopo River, diverting water into the Zambezi River.
Length: 1,100 miles
