| Buffalo River | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the Buffalo River's mouth |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Source1: | Near Majuba Hill |
| Source1 Location: | Drakensberg |
| Mouth Location: | Tugela River |
| Mouth Coordinates: | -28.7164°N 30.6418°W |
The Buffalo River (zu|uMzinyathi; af|Buffelsrivier) is the largest tributary of the Tugela River in South Africa. With a total length of, its source is in Majuba Hill, "Hill of Doves" in the 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.
