Okavango

American  

[oh-kuh-vang-goh, -vahng-] / ˌoʊ kəˈvæŋ goʊ, -ˈvɑŋ- /

noun

1. a river in central Africa, flowing SE from Angola to Botswana. About 1,000 miles (1,610 km) long.

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Okavango British  

/ ˌəʊkəˈvɑːŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. a river in SW central Africa, rising in central Angola and flowing southeast, then east as part of the border between Angola and Namibia, then southeast across the Caprivi Strip into Botswana to form a great marsh known as the Okavango Basin, Delta or Swamp. Length: about 1600 km (1000 miles)

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Example Sentences

When the floods spill over Botswana’s Okavango Delta every year, fat antelopes congregate in lush grazing grounds and big predators treat the islands like snack bars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025

Elephant carcasses were first spotted in the north-eastern sector of the country's Okavango Delta between May and June 2020, but poaching was soon ruled out as the cause.

From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2024

Lions have been observed swimming in Okavango Delta in Botswana, but rarely farther than 150 feet.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2024

A network of rivers and lakes clustered in Angola’s remote highlands feeds two rivers, the Cuito and Cubango, which then combine into the Kavango River in Namibia before crossing into Botswana as the Okavango River.

From National Geographic • Dec. 20, 2023

Three had died of fever at Vogel Pan, a little to the south of the Okavango.

From From Veldt Camp Fires by Bryden, H.A.