| Buffalo River | |
|---|---|
 Buffalo River at Rorke's Drift | |
  Location of the Buffalo River's mouth | |
| Native name | Mzinyathi (Zulu) |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| State | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Near Majuba Hill |
| • location | Drakensberg |
| Mouth | |
• location | Tugela River |
• coordinates | 28°42′59″S 30°38′30″E / 28.716358°S 30.641768°E |
• elevation | 465 metres (1,526 ft) |
| Length | 426 km (265 mi) |
| Basin size | 13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi) |
The Buffalo River (Zulu: uMzinyathi; Afrikaans: Buffelsrivier) is the largest tributary of the Tugela River in South Africa. With a total length of 426 km (265 mi), its source is in Majuba Hill, "Hill of Doves" in Zulu language, located northeast of Volksrust, close to the Mpumalanga / KwaZulu-Natal border. It follows a southerly route into KwaZulu-Natal past Newcastle then turns southeast past Rorke's Drift, before joining the Tugela River[1] at Ngubevu near Nkandla. During the nineteenth century it formed part of the boundary between the Colony of Natal and Zululand.
The Buffalo River has a number of tributaries, including the Ingagane from the SW and the Blood River from the NE, which it joins near Kandi Mountain.[2] Rorke's Drift is a ford across the Buffalo River which is one of the famous places of the 1878-79 Anglo-Zulu War and Isandhlwana is another important place of that war located about 20 km SE of the river, not far from the confluence with the Tugela.[citation needed]