Makhaleng River

The Makhaleng River is a river of western Lesotho. It rises in the Maloti Mountains, flows generally in a southwesterly direction to join the Orange River at the border with Free State in South Africa.

Course
The river originates northwest of the 2886 m high Machache in the Maluti Mountains. It flows southwest across the Lesotho Highlands past the towns and villages of Molimo-Nthuse, Makhaleng, Ramabanta and Qaba, flowing into the Orange River at the international border by the Free State near the Makhaleng Bridge. At an elevation of 1400 m, the mouth of the Makhaleng is the lowest point in Lesotho, and the highest lowest point of any country.

The valley of the river forms part of the approach to several mountain passes, notably the God Help Me Pass and the Gates of Paradise Pass. The Qiloane Falls are a tourist attraction located in the upper course of the river. They are about 30 m high but are more known for their width, as the water flows across the rocks in a "bridal veil".

In Lesotho this river in its upper parts does not have a flood plain. The flow is swift and the river rises rapidly after heavy rainfall in the mountains and during the spring thaw. The catchment area is about 300000 hectare and the average flow is about 15 m3 per second. There are no large reservoirs on the river, but there are a number of small and medium-sized ones constructed for soil conservation and for water collection purposes. These are liable to silt up and a few have washed away.

Tributaries
The Makhaleng has three main tributaries the Makhalaneng, the Qhoqhoane and the Khibiting. All of them flow into it from the right bank as they drain the water off the Maluti Mountains.