Lake Mutirikwe

Lake Mutirikwe
Official name	Mutirikwe Dam
Location	Masvingo
Coordinates	20°14′56.12″S 31°01′59.74″E / 20.2489222°S 31.0332611°E / -20.2489222; 31.0332611Coordinates: 20°14′56.12″S 31°01′59.74″E / 20.2489222°S 31.0332611°E / -20.2489222; 31.0332611
Construction began	1958-1960
Dam and spillways
Height	63 metres
Length	309 metres
Impounds	Mutirikwe River
Reservoir
Capacity	1,378 million cubic metres[1]
Catchment area	3900 km²
Surface area	9105 ha
Double-curvature concrete arch Spillway: Overflow crest with 1m gates Discharge capacity 1740 m³/s

Lake Mutirikwe, formerly known as Lake Kyle, lies in south eastern Zimbabwe, south east of Masvingo. It covers about 90 km² and was created in 1960 with the construction of the Kyle Dam on the Mutirikwe River. The dam was built to provide irrigation water to the farming estates on the lowveld to the southwest, around the town of Triangle, where the main crop has been sugar cane.^[1]

Lake Kyle Recreational Park lies on the reservoir's northern shore, while there is a small recreational park on the southern shore. Great Zimbabwe national monument lies close by.

Rivers which feed the lake include the Mbebvi River, Matare River, Pokoteke River, Umpopinyani River, Makurumidzi River and Shagashe River.

In the 1980s, drought drastically lowered the water level in the lake, but during the 1990s it recovered. The level fluctuates widely due to irrigation demands and the seasonal rainfall.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mutirikwe Dam". Zimbabwe National Water Authority. http://www.zinwa.co.zw/htm/mutirikwi.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 

External links

• Lake Kyle Recreational Park