The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of 560 km, and a drop of 1370 metres in the lower 480 km, it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Drakensberg Mountains at an elevation of 3282 metres and plunges in five distinct free-leaping falls 947 metres down the Tugela Falls. The Mont-aux-Sources is also the origin of tributaries of two other major South African rivers, the Orange and the Caledon River. From the Drakensberg range, the Tugela follows a 560 km route through the KwaZulu-Natal midlands before flowing into the Indian Ocean. The total catchment area is approximately 29100 km2. Land uses in the catchment are mainly rural subsistence farming and commercial forestry.

Tributaries

The Tugela is fed by a number of tributaries coming off the Drakensberg, the largest being the Mzinyathi ("Buffalo") River (rising near Majuba Hill). Others are the Little Tugela River, Klip River (rising near Van Reenen Pass), Mooi River, Blood River, Sundays River (rising in the Biggarsberg) Ingagani River and Bushman River. The Buffalo River joins the Tugela some 19 km east of Tugela Ferry at -28.71778°N, 30.64472°W. The Blood River was named by the Boers, led by Andries Pretorius, after they defeated the Zulu king Dingane on 16 December 1838. The river is said to have run red with the blood of Zulu warriors. Below the Blood River is Rorke's Drift, a crossing point and a battle site, in the Anglo-Zulu War.

Ecology

The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is found in the Tugela River System. It is a common endemic fish in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it is found in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands, including rivers such as the Umkomazi.

Spelling

The spelling Tugela was used for most of the twentieth century; it is an Anglicised version of the Zulu name Thukela. Nineteenth-century writers adopted a variety of spellings including: Some of the variations can be accounted for by the early European writers being unaware that Zulu grammar uses prefixes, often a "i-" or a "u-", to denote the noun class of a noun.