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NGAMI

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 634 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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NGAMI , the central point of an inland See also:

WATER

water See also:

SYSTEM

system of See also:

South See also:

Africa, once forming a Iake 20 M. See also:

long and ro wide, but now little more than an expanse of reeds growing in a soft treacherous See also:

SOIL

soil, below which brackish water is found. It is cut by 2o2° S. and 23° E. Ngami is the lowest point of a large depression in the See also:

plateau which comprises nine-tenths of Africa south of the See also:

ZAMBEZI

Zambezi. The See also:

AREA

area which drains to it is bounded S. by the See also:

basin of the See also:

Orange, E. by the See also:

MATABELE (" vanishing " or " hidden " people, so called from their appearance in battle, hidden behind enormous oxhide shields)

Matabele hills, N. by the western affluents of the Zambezi. The greater See also:

PART

part of the Ngami water-system lies, however, N.W. of the See also:

lake (which for convenience it may still be called) in the tableland of See also:

ANGOLA

Angola and See also:

German South See also:

West Africa. On the high plateau of Bihe, in the See also:

HINTERLAND (German for " the land behind ")

hinterland of See also:

BENGUELLA (Sao Felipe de Benguella)

Benguella. rise two large See also:

rivers, the Okavango and the Kwito, which uniting discharged their See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters into Ngami. From the N.E. end of Ngami issued the Botletle or Zuga, a stream which runs S.E. and drains towards the Makarikari See also:

marsh, from which there is no outlet. Although Ngami has dried up since 1890 the Okavango and its tributary the Kwito remain large rivers. The Okavango is known in its upper course as the Kubango. Its most remote source lies in about 1r° S. and 161° E. and its length is over 90o m. It flows first S. then S.E. and E. In about 18° S. and 2oz° E. it is joined on the See also:

north See also:

BANK

bank by the Kwito, a large navigable stream rising almost as far north as the Okavango.

Its See also:

general course is S.E., but between 15° and 17° S. it flows S. and even S.W. Below the Kwito confluence the Okavango, which is also joined by various streams from the S.W. (German territory), is a rapid stream with an See also:

AVERAGE

average breadth of over See also:

LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo yds., and generally navigable as far as the Popa falls, in 210 50' E. In the dry See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season, the water-level is from 4to 20 ft. below the See also:

banks, but these are overflowed during the rains. At this See also:

period, See also:

APRIL

April-See also:

JUNE

June, some of the surplus water finds its way (in about r9° S.) by the Magwekwana to the Kwando or Linyanti (Zambezi system), to which, it is conjectured, the whole See also:

BODY

body of water may have once flowed. Below the Magwekwana outlet the Okavango, now called the Taukhe or Tioghe, turns almost due S., enters a swampy See also:

reed-covered See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain and is broken into several branches. In this region the effects of See also:

DESICCATION (from the Lat. desiccare, to dry up)

desiccation are marked. Through the swamps the See also:

RIVER

river formerly entered Ngami. The last 20 M. of the old channel are now dry and devoted tc See also:

GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain crops. Above this point the waters of the Okavango arc diverted eastward through a channel called Tamalakane to the Botletle, the river which, as stated above, formerly flowed out of Ngami. The point of confluence is in about 20° S. 232° E., the Botletle above this point being merely a See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of pools.

Below the junction the river See also:

bed is 150 to 200 yds. wide. The banks are 25 to 30 ft. high, and See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form steep See also:

white walls of See also:

sand compacted with See also:

lime, behind which the dark See also:

green See also:

FOREST

forest rises. The stream is fringed with reeds harbouring countless water-See also:

FOWL (Dan. Fugl, Ger. Vogel)

fowl. The Botletle, whose bed is about loo m. in length, loses itself in a system of See also:

salt-pans—See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round or See also:

OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval basins of varying See also:

SIZE

size sunk to a See also:

DEPTH

depth of 30 to 45 ft. in the See also:

SANDSTONE

sandstone, and often bounded by steep banks. The See also:

OUTER

outer pans are dry for a large part of the See also:

YEAR

year, the whole system being filled only at the height of the See also:

flood-season in See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August. The Botletle, which receives in addition the scanty waters of the See also:

NORTHERN

northern See also:

KALAHARI

Kalahari, at this season reaches the Makarikari marsh. This marsh, occupying the N.E. corner of See also:

BECHUANALAND (a name given from its inhabitants, the Bechuana, q.v.)

Bechuanaland, has also feeders from the Matabele hills in the direction of See also:

BULAWAYO

Bulawayo. During the rains the marsh is converted into a large lake. Much of the water is lost by evaporation; much of it sinks into some subterranean See also:

RESERVOIR

reservoir. The See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence o1 travellers is conclusive that the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country around Ngami is drving up. The desiccation appears to be rapid. In 1849 when See also:

David See also:

LIVINGSTONE, DAVID (1813-1873)

Livingstone visited Ngami the lake though shallow was of considerable extent.

Later travellers reported progressive decrease in the size of the lake and in 1896 See also:

Sir F. D. See also:

LUGARD, SIR FREDERICK JOHN DEALTRY (1858- )

Lugard and Dr Siegfried Passarge found it dry. Dr Passarge was told by the natives that the cessation of the river's flow was caused, about 189o, by a blocking of the channel by thousands of rafts. Although the river system below the Magwekwana outlet of the Okavango is drying up, above that point there are long stretches of navigable water both on the Okavango and the Kwito, in all considerably over Imo m. The Popa falls are the last of a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of six in a distance of 40 m., but none See also:

PRESENT

present serious See also:

ENGINEERING

engineering difficulties. The Magwekwana connexion with the Zambezi is a little over loo m. long, and for more than See also:

HALF

half its course flows through a deep well-defined bed with a minimum width of no, yards. The fall to the Linyanti affluent of the Zambezi is only a few feet and the country presents no obstacles to the construction of artificial channels. Ngami is within the (See also:

BRITISH

British) Bechuanaland See also:

PROTECTORATE

protectorate, about 5o m. E. of the frontier of German South-West Africa. The See also:

DISTRICT

district is the See also:

home of the Batawana tribe of See also:

BECHUANA

Bechuana, with whom is stationed a See also:

EUROPEAN

European See also:

MAGISTRATE (Lat. magistratus, from magister, master, properly a public office, hence the person holding such an office)

magistrate. The tribes living along the See also:

LOWER

lower Okavango are tributary to the Bechuana, and the blocking of the channel referred to was occasioned by their bringing to Ngami their See also:

ANNUAL

annual See also:

TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute of See also:

corn.

See BECHUANALAND and KALAHARI. An See also:

account of the Ngami district is given in See also:

Die Kalahari by Dr Siegfried Passarge (See also:

Berlin, 1904). Of See also:

early books of travel consult C. J. Andersson's Lake Ngami (See also:

LONDON

London, 1856) and The Okavango River (London, 1861). NGAN-HUI (AN-IrwEl or GAN-HWLTY), an eastern See also:

province of See also:

CHINA

China, which, together with Kiang-su and Kiang-si, forms the See also:

VICE

vice-See also:

ROYALTY (0. Fr. realte, reialte, royaulte, from Med. Lat. regalitas, the substantive of regalis, of or belonging to a king, rex)

royalty of Kiang-nan. It is bounded N. by Ho-nan, E. by Kiang-su and Cheh-kiang, S. by Kiang-si and W. by Hu-peh and Ho-nan. It covers an area of 48,461 sq. m., and contains a See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of 23,600,000. Its See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city is Ngan-kiing on the Yangtsze Kiang, besides which it See also:

numbers seven prefectural cities. One district city, Ho-fei, is noted as having been the birthplace of Li Hungchang (1822-1901). The See also:

SOUTHERN

southern half of the province, that portion south of the Yangtsze Kiang, forms part of the Nan-shan, or hilly See also:

belt of the south-eastern provinces, and produces, besides See also:

cotton, See also:

COAL

coal and See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron ore, large quantities of green See also:

TEA (Chinese cha, Amoy dialect t€)

tea. There are also considerable forest areas.

Nganhui is one of the most productive provinces of China. Over the whole of its southern portion tea is largely grown, notably in the districts of Hui-chow Fu, Tung-liu, Ta-tung and Wu-hu. The Yangtsze Kiang is the principal river of the province, and is of See also:

GREAT

great importance for See also:

FOREIGN

foreign See also:

commerce, supplying See also:

DIRECT

direct water communication between some of the principal tea-growing districts and the neighbourhood of Hang-chow. The only other river of importance is the Hwai-ho (see CHINA: The Country). Wu-hu on the Yangtsze Kiang is the only open See also:

PORT

port in this province. From this port a railway runs S.E. to Wen-chow—an open seaport in Cheh-kiang province.

End of Article: NGAMI

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