Palala River

Lephalala River Palala River
Palala / Lephalala River gorge in Lapalala Wilderness, Waterberg, showing horizontal sandstone layering
Location of the Lephalala River mouth
Etymology	Name derived from Lephalale (Sotho), which means "one that inundates".[1]
Location
Country	South Africa
State	Limpopo Province
Physical characteristics
Source	Waterberg Massif
Mouth
• location	Limpopo River, South Africa/Botswana border
• coordinates	23°5′2″S 27°53′40″E / 23.08389°S 27.89444°E / -23.08389; 27.89444
• elevation	788 m (2,585 ft)
Basin size	4,868 km2 (1,880 sq mi)
[2]

The Palala or Lephalala River, also called the Rhooebok-river by Thomas Baines,^[3] is a river in South Africa. This river's catchment basin is a sub-watershed of the Limpopo River.

It is a significant watercourse in the Waterberg area of Limpopo Province. The river drains much of the Lapalala Wilderness area and considerable additional lands that are important habitat for native wildlife in a zone with considerable ongoing bushveld restoration. The predominantly dry deciduous forest community of the upland portion of the Palala River watershed is home to many large African mammals including Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, White Rhino and numerous bovids.

The Palala River has been shown to exhibit high water quality with very clear flowing waters, especially in the uppermost regions; correspondingly biotic health has been assessed as healthy using the North African catfish as a bio-marker. Interesting prehistoric rock paintings exist on bluffs along the river in the Lapalala Wilderness area.