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580:. In January 2021 ReconAfrica announced the start of drilling operations on the first exploration well. Environmental activists have expressed concern that ReconAfrica’s plans for its test wells have not been properly vetted through Namibia’s environmental review process, however ReconAfrica and both the governments of Namibia and Botswana have stated that the company's activities have followed due process and that no fracking will occur. ReconAfrica’s drilling area is in the
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stretches to 150 km across from east to west; one of the factors that leads to the ever-changing nature of the delta is the flatness of the area. If one were to take a cross section of the delta at its widest point, one would find that the height variation from the mean over that 150 km is
548:
Both
Namibia and Botswana experience drought, and as a result, concerns have been expressed 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
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and a similar amount of bedload to the terminal swamps. Most of the particulate sediment carried by the river is fine sand, with some silt and mud, thanks to the geological makeup of the
Okavango River catchment which is largely underlain by Kalahari sand. There is low concentration of dissolved
456:
through the plants and numerous channels of the final 250 km of the delta. As a result, the flood is at its biggest sometime between June and August, during
Botswana's dry winter months. The delta then swells to three times its permanent size, attracting animals from kilometres around and
556:
Namibia, in turn, has argued that it will only divert half of one percent of the river's flow, and that it is entitled to any water that flows through its territory. To deal with such issues, in
September 1994, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana signed an agreement to form the
552:
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.
489:
solids in the river water - around 40 mg/L, made up mostly of silica, calcium and magnesium bicarbonates - but these dissolved solids form the largest component of sediment carried into the delta because the annual water volume is so large.
344:
in
Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of
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Every wet season, Angola receives three times more rainfall than
Botswana, discharging a higher than usual flow into the Okavango, turning swathes of outlying desert into a huge wetland.
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Although the summer rains fall in Angola in
January, they take a whole month to travel the first 1,000 km of the Okavango River, and then they take a further four months to
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Before it enters
Botswana, the river drops 4 m (13 ft) in a series of rapids known as Popa Falls, visible when the river is low, as during the dry season.
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In very wet years, a part of the river's flow may extend along the
Magweggana River (actually a northeastern distributary of the Okavango Delta) and enter the
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215:
137:
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512:
938:
761:
Hanibal Lemma, and colleagues (2019). "Bedload transport measurements in the Gilgel Abay River, Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia".
1193:
804:
McCarthy, T S (October 2013). "The okavango delta and its place in the geomorphological evolution of Southern Africa".
336:(formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as
576:, has obtained exploration licenses for more than 13,600 square miles of land in the Kavango Region of Namibia and in
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region which contains a multicountry conservation park, six locally managed wildlife reserves, and one
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636:"The Cuito catchment of the Okavango system: a vascular plant checklist for the Angolan headwaters"
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During colder periods in Earth's history, a part of the Kalahari was a massive lake, known as
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391:, and affect its health. In Angola, the upper reaches of the Cuito suffers clogging due to
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Oil drilling, possible fracking planned for Okavango region—elephants’ last stronghold
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913:"Press release - Clarity on explorative activities by Reconnaissance Energy Botswana"
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Siyabona Africa Travel (Pty) Ltd, "Popa Falls | Okavango River | Botswana" webpage:
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of the vegetation, reducing water flow downstream as the accumulated water instead
357:. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the
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site, however the drilling license does not include any of these protected areas.
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less than 2 m, which means that a minor sand deposition can cause major changes.
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939:"Factual Response to article titled: "Oil Drillers Threaten Okavango Ecosystem""
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Confluence of Cuito (from top) and Okavango (flowing from left to right) (2018)
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ReconAfrica starts drilling on first well in Kavango Basin, Namibia
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The Cubango and Cuito Rivers are the principal tributaries of the
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Goyder, David J.; Barker, Nigel; et al. (27 November 2018).
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349:. Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and
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Varis, Olli; Tortajada, Cecilia; Biswas, Asit K. (2008-03-15).
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congregate each summer. Part of the river's flow fills
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At its widest point in a big flood year, the seasonal
870:. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 96.
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http://blog.africabespoke.com/okavango-delta-part-2/
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creating one of Africa's greatest concentrations of
892:"ReconAfrica Environmental, Social, and Governance"
572:, a petroleum exploration company headquartered in
413:, which features an expansive area of rainy-season
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549:river into Namibia to help relieve the drought.
559:Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission
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484:The river carries annually 28,000 tonnes of
867:Management of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes
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328:Kavango river view at Hakusembe river lodge
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310:1,000 m/s (35,000 cu ft/s)
268:530,000 km (200,000 sq mi)
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730:, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
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429:, the Okavango area contains Botswana's
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837:Resource Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa
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405:In the rainy season, an outflow to the
300:350 m/s (12,000 cu ft/s)
290:475 m/s (16,800 cu ft/s)
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608:Mendelsohn, John (9 September 2021).
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834:Basedau, Matthias (2005-01-01).
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361:or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an
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209: • coordinates
131: • coordinates
27:Major river in southern Africa
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1:
840:. GIGA-Hamburg. p. 294.
783:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.123968
690:"Okavango Wilderness Project"
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260:1,700 km (1,100 mi)
100:Physical characteristics
686:Society, National Geographic
646:. Pensoft Publishers: 1–31.
248: • elevation
174:1,788 m (5,866 ft)
170: • elevation
51:Okavango in Kavango, Namibia
7:
653:10.3897/phytokeys.113.30439
417:where tens of thousands of
196: • location
118: • location
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694:www.nationalgeographic.org
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63:Okavango river basin map
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373:is a major tributary.
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1194:Angola–Namibia border
586:UNESCO World Heritage
528:18.02778°S 20.79194°E
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763:Journal of Hydrology
614:Conservation Namibia
610:"A River in Trouble"
30:For other uses, see
775:2019JHyd..57723968L
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431:Moremi Game Reserve
397:flows into the sand
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201:Moremi Game Reserve
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480:Sediment transport
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1174:Rivers of Namibia
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698:Into the Okavango
499:Lake Makgadikgadi
445:Popa Falls (2018)
411:Makgadikgadi Pans
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16:(Redirected from
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371:Cuito River
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1163:Categories
943:mme.gov.na
769:: 123968.
663:2263/71882
592:References
516:18°01′40″S
423:Lake Ngami
265:Basin size
222:22°34′34″E
219:18°59′17″S
203:, Botswana
144:16°04′52″E
141:12°42′22″S
1115:Luanginga
1075:Chiloango
791:199099061
672:1314-2003
640:PhytoKeys
619:8 January
419:flamingos
277:Discharge
123:Cachiungo
74:Countries
1135:Okavango
948:30 April
923:30 April
812:: 1–54.
745:Archived
702:Archived
578:Botswana
459:wildlife
427:wildlife
355:Botswana
125:, Angola
91:Botswana
69:Location
40:Okavango
1145:Zambezi
771:Bibcode
493:History
415:wetland
369:. The
365:in the
351:Namibia
342:Kavango
338:Cubango
86:Namibia
32:Cubango
1120:Lucala
1105:Kwango
1095:Cunene
1090:Cuanza
1085:Cuando
1067:Rivers
1059:Angola
1055:Rivers
897:20 May
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574:Canada
454:filter
347:Angola
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257:Length
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109:Source
81:Angola
1125:Luena
1110:Kwilu
1100:Kasai
1080:Congo
787:S2CID
466:swamp
437:Flood
184:Mouth
950:2021
925:2021
899:2021
872:ISBN
842:ISBN
668:ISSN
621:2024
377:Flow
332:The
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