river rising near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Running generally eastward, it descends from a plateau, cutting a valley 3,000 feet (900 metres) deep in northwestern Swaziland before reaching the Lebombo Mountains, at which point it is joined by the Krokodil River and cuts another valley—the Komatipoort (700 feet 【213 metres】 deep)—through the Lebombo. Below the frontier township of Komatipoort, the river enters extreme southwestern Mozambique, where it is called the Incomati. It flows north in a great loop and spreads into Lake Chuáli, reaching the sea some 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Maputo (formerly Lourenço Marques). Its flow is perennial.