The Okavango River, is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango 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 Angola. Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert. The Cuito River is a major tributary.
Okavango in Kavango, Namibia
Kavango river view at Hakusembe river lodge
Popa Falls (2018)
Confluence of Cuito (from top) and Okavango (flowing from left to right) (2018) 18°01′40″S 020°47′31″E / 18.02778°S 20.79194°E / -18.02778; 20.79194
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a vast inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari.
Satellite image (SeaWiFS) of Okavango Delta, with national borders added
Typical region in the Okavango Delta, with free canals and lakes, swamps and islands
Shinde Lagoon, seen from the air
Aerial view of delta as floodwaters recede, August 2012