It is formed by the confluence of the Cubango and Cuito rivers, which originate on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and flow southeast.

The Cubango is joined just above its confluence with the Cuito by the Omatako River, which flows northeast from its origin in the Damaraland region of central Namibia.

After the Okavango Delta, the waters of the basin enter a zone of strong evaporation, already within the Kalahari Desert depression.

[4] The Selinda Spillway, also known as the Magweqana, Magwekwana or Magweggana, is a distributary channel that connects the Okavango Delta to the Cuando River, a tributary of the Zambezi.

This area, for example, supports numerous halophilic species and, in the rainy season tens of thousands of flamingos visit these pans.