A short message on the topic of the Zambezi River. Zambezi (river in Africa) where does it originate and where does it flow? Zambezi: source, length, location on the map and photo. From source to delta

30.10.2019

The Zambezi ranks second on the mainland in terms of annual runoff. The water level on the Zambezi rises in the summer, in winter it drops sharply. The source of the river is in Zambia, among forested hills at an altitude of more than 1500 meters above sea level, the river flows through Angola, along the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in Mozambique, where it flows into the Indian Ocean. East of the leak, between 11°S and 12°S. sh., lies a belt of uplands with rather steep northern and southern slopes. The watershed between the basins of the Congo and Zambezi rivers runs along this belt. It clearly separates the basin of the Luapala River (the main tributary of the upper Congo) from the Zambezi. At the source, the watershed is implicit, but these two river systems are not connected.

From a height of 1500 m above sea level at the source, after 350 km, in Keiknji, the river drops to about 1100 m. For 30 km below the confluence with Langwebang, the area becomes flat and prone to floods during the rainy season. After Lilu, the river turns to the southeast. From the east, numerous small tributaries continue to flow into it, along 240 km, until the confluence with the Kwando River, there is no western tributary. Before entering the Kwando, the river passes through a series of rapids and cliffs, as well as the Ngambwe Falls, which makes navigation in this section impossible.
After confluence with the Kwando, the Zambezi turns sharply to the east. At this point, the wide and shallow river flows slowly, and on its way to the border of the great Central African plateau reaches a fault, into which it plunges into the Victoria Falls. This is a huge stream of water 1800 m wide, falling from a height of 120 m. Descending, the water raises huge columns of spray. When the water level in the river rises, a fog of mist rises over the gorge. In sunny weather, extremely bright rainbow ribbons hang over the waterfall, creating a kind of halo. The rumble and rumble of the waterfall can be heard for many kilometers, it is not surprising that the locals call the waterfall "smoke that thunders." The waterfall is part of the national parks (the states of Zimbabwe and Zambia). Below the waterfall in Zimbabwe, a powerful Kariba hydroelectric complex was built, above the dam of which a large reservoir was created. Another major hydroelectric complex - Cahor-Bas - is located on the territory of the Republic of Mozambique.
The 650 km of the lower reaches of the Zambezi from Cahor-Basa hydroelectric power station to the Indian Ocean are navigable, but during the dry season many shoals form on the river. This is due to the fact that the channel runs through a wide valley and the river overflows over a large area. Only in a few places, such as a fissure slam 320 km from the mouth of the river, the Zambezi flows in a canyon bounded by high hills. In this place, the width of the river is no more than 200 m. In other places, it grows from 5 to 8 km and its course is extremely slow.

Approximately 160 km from the Zambezi Ocean, through the Shire River, it is replenished with water from Lake Malawi. Closer to the Indian Ocean, the river splits into many branches and forms a wide delta.

Information

Length: 2574 km
Swimming pool: 1,570,000 km²
Height: 1500 m
mouth: Indian Ocean

Source. worldofscience.ru

Plan:

1 The course of the river
- 1.1 Istok
- 1.2 Upper river
- 1.3 Middle Zambezi
- 1.4 Lower Zambezi
2 Tributaries
3 River exploration
4 Wildlife
5 Economy
6 transport value
7 Ecology
8 Main settlements
9 Literature (links)

Introduction

Zambezi Basin

Zambezi- the fourth longest river in Africa. The basin area is 1,570,000 km², the length is 2,574 km. The source of the river is in Zambia, the river flows through Angola, along the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it flows into the Indian Ocean. Name Zambezi was given to the river by its discoverer among Europeans, David Livingston, comes from a distorted Casambo Wazy- names in one of the local dialects. [ ]

The most important attraction Zambezi- Victoria Falls, one of the greatest waterfalls in the world.

There are many remarkable waterfalls in Zambezi: Chavuma on the border of Zambia and Angola and Ngambwe, in Western Zambia. Along the entire course of the river across the Zambezi, there are five bridges in the cities: Chinwingi, Katima Mulilo, Victoria Falls, Chirundu and Tete.

Two large hydroelectric power plants have been built on the river - Kariba HPP, which provides electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Kabora-Bassa HPP in Mozambique, which provides electricity to Zimbabwe and South Africa. There is also a small power plant in Victoria Falls.

1. The course of the river

1.1. Source

The river originates in the area of black swamps in the north-west of Zambia, among forested hills with a height of approximately 1,500 meters above sea level. To the east of the source is the watershed between the Congo and Zambezi river basins, which is a belt of uplands with rather steep northern and southern slopes, lying between 11 and 12 degrees south latitude. It distinctly separates the basin of the Luapala River (the main tributary of the upper Congo) from the Zambezi. In the vicinity of the source, the watershed is implicitly expressed, but still the two river systems are not connected.

1.2. Upper reaches of the river

After flowing to the southwest after about 240 km, the river turns south, where numerous tributaries flow into it. A few kilometers above Keyknji, the river expands from 100 to 350 meters, below Keyknji there are numerous rapids ending in the Chavama waterfall, where the river falls into a crack in the rocks. The first of the great tributaries Zambezi- Kabompo River - located in northern Zambia. And a little to the south, an even larger river flows into it - the Langwebangu. The savanna through which the river flows gives way to a shrub-bush with palm trees. Borassas.

Zambezi River in North West Zambia

From a height of 1500 m above sea level at its source, after 350 km at Keiknji, the river drops to approximately 1100 m. From this city to Victoria Falls, the river level practically does not change, dropping only another 180 m. Langwebang the area becomes flat, and during the rainy season is largely flood-prone. 80 kilometers (50 miles) further down, the Luanjinga, which with its tributaries dries up a large area to the west, joins the Zambezi. A few kilometers further east, the main stream joins the Luena River.

Below the confluence of the Luanjinga is the city - Lilui, one of the administrative centers of the Lotsi people inhabiting the semi-autonomous region of Zambia - Barotseland . Head Lozi has two compositions, the other is Limalanga. Limalanga is on high ground and serves as the main capital during the rainy season. The annual movement from Lilui to Limalang is famous for the festivals of Zambia, Kuombok.

After Lilui, the river turns to the southeast. Numerous small tributaries continue to flow into it from the east, but in the west it has no tributaries for 240 km, up to the confluence with the Kwando River. Before entering the Kwando, the river passes through a series of rapids and rapids and the Ngambwe Falls, so navigation in this section is impossible. South of the Ngambwe Falls, the river runs for a short distance along the border of Namibia, its so-called Caprivi Strip. This narrow and long strip of Namibian land stretches from the mainland of Namibia all the way to the Zambezi River, tearing apart the territories of Botswana and Angola. Its origin is due to the desire during colonial development to have access to the Zambezi River for the then German South-West Africa.

Below the confluence of the Kwando and Zambezi, the river turns sharply to the east. At this point, the wide and shallow Zambezi flows slowly, and on its way to the east, to the border of the great Central African plateau, the river reaches a fault, into which it rushes down the Victoria Falls.

1.3. Middle Zambezi

Victoria Falls, the end of the upper Zambezi and the beginning of the middle Zambezi. View from above

Victoria Falls in 1915. Front view

Victoria Falls is considered the border of the upper and middle Zambezi. Below it, the river continues to flow to the east, for about another 200 km between the hills, 200-250 meters high, cutting through 20 - 60-meter perpendicular walls of basalt. The river flows rapidly through the gorge, overcoming numerous rapids and rapids that stretch for a distance of 240 km from Victoria Falls. In this section, the water line drops by 250 meters.

Finally, the river flows into the Caribbean Reservoir (Lake Kariba), created in 1959 after the construction of a dam Kariba HPP. This reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, and the Kariba hydroelectric power station provides electricity to much of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Luangwa and Kafue are the two main left tributaries of the Zambezi. Kafue joins the main river in a quiet deep stream about 180 meters wide. From this point the northward bend of the Zambezi is checked and the current continues due east. At the confluence of the Luangwa (15°37 and *8242; S), it enters Mozambique.

The middle Zambezi ends at the confluence of the river into the reservoir (lake) Cahora Bassa ( Cabora Bassa ). At this point, the river used to pass through dangerous rapids known as Quebrabassa. The lake was created in 1974 after the construction of the Cabora-Bassa hydroelectric dam.

1.4. Lower Zambezi

The 650 km of the lower reaches of the Zambezi from the Cabora-Bass hydroelectric power station to the Indian Ocean are navigable, but during the dry season there are many shoals on the river. A similar situation arises because the river enters a wide valley and spills over a large area. Only in some places, such as the gorge Lupata, 320 km from the mouth of the river, the Zambezi flows in a canyon bounded by high hills. In this place, the width of the river is no more than 200 meters. In other places it is from 5 to 8 km, and its course is extremely slow. The riverbed is sandy. In certain periods, and especially during the rainy season, the various channels of the river are combined into one wide and fast stream.

Zambezi Delta

About 160 km (100 miles) from the Zambezi Sea receives the drainage of Lake Malawi across the Shire. As the Indian Ocean approaches, the river splits into many branches and forms a wide delta. Each of the four main mouths, Milamb, Kongown, Luabo and Timbw, hampered by sand deposits. A more northerly branch, named chind, has a minimum depth in low water of 2 meters at the entrance of 4 meters, this branch is used for navigation. 100 km (60 miles) further north is a river named Quelimane, after the city. This stream, which is a silting, gets out of the Zambezi during the rainy season. The Zambezi Delta is half as wide today as it was before the creation caribbean and Cahora Bassa Dams controlled seasonal changes in the flow of the river.

The area desiccated by the Zambezi is a fractured vast - 900-1200 meter high flanked plateau composed in a distant interior of metamorphic beds and fringed with the volcanic rocks of the Victoria Falls. At Xapanga, on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of gray and yellow sandstone, with an occasional band of limestone, harvest on the bed of the river in the dry season, and they persist beyond Tete, where they are bound by vast seams of coal. Coal can be found in the area, but only below Victoria Falls. Gold-bearing rocks occur in several places.

2. Tributaries

The Zambezi has numerous tributaries. The most important are described below in order of confluence from source to mouth.

The Kabompo River begins its journey from the uplands that form the eastern divide between the Zambezi and Congo systems. It arises from the confluence of the Upper Kabompo and the somewhat larger Lunga River and flows into the Zambezi north of the city of Lakalu. Flowing into the Zambezi from the west somewhat south of the confluence with Kabompo, the Langwebangu River in its upper reaches is 200 m wide and flows in the valley through a zone of light forest and white sands. The river floodplain, which is flooded from time to time during floods, is about 3 km wide.

The Kwando River, the largest of the western tributaries of the river, has a ruined capital of people Macololo at its lower limits. It rises in Angola, and forms the border between Zambia and Angola for part of its course, before bending to the south, passing as a gentle east into the Zambezi. In this stretch east to the streams of Kuando through a vast piercing swamp, with alluvial islands 110 km (70 miles), in its southern bend which joins Magwekwana. During floods, Magwecana receives some of the Okavango's excess water. This excess water, taken from most of the flow of the Kwando water, raises the level of the lake and keeps the waters of the Kwando up to some miles above it.

The largest tributary of the middle Zambezi, the Kafue, rises in northern Zambia at an elevation of 1350 meters in a thick forest country. The main headwaters are joined by the Langa or Luanga River. The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam is an important source of hydroelectric power from the Kafue River. The river also supports wildlife which is protected by Zambia's largest national park - Kafue National Park. The lower Kafue has a series of waterfalls and streams, dropping several hundred feet over 25 km (15 miles).

The next major tributary to the east is the Luangwa, which rises near the northwest corner of Lake Malawi, in its upper course parallel to its western shores. The Luangwa flows into a level valley bounded by the steep escarpments of the plateau. Its tributaries, the Lansemfwa River and the Lakasashi River, dry up a large area of Zambia's western plateau. Luangwa joins the Zambezi just above Zambo town.

The Luangwa Valley is an important wildlife sanctuary. Contains North Luangwa National Park and South Luangwa National Park. Luangwa defines the border between Zambia and Mozambique for about 75 km before joining the Zambezi.

From the south, the middle Zambezi merges with the rivers - Shangani, Sanyati, and Khanyani, in addition to minor streams. Maso that rises in Mashonaland, joins Zambezi below Cahora Bassa Dam.

3. River exploration

Satellite image showing the Victoria Falls and subsequent series of gorges

The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as Monomotapa Empire , and the course of the river, as well as the positions of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given broadly accurately in early charts. They were probably built from Arabic information.

The first European to visit the upper Zambezi was David Livingstone in his exploration from Bechuanaland between 1851 and 1853. Two or three years later he descended the Zambezi and during this trip discovered Victoria Falls. During 1858-1860, accompanied by John Kirk, Livingston climbed upriver to the Congoun Falls and also traced the course of its tributary, the County, and discovered Lake Malawi.

Over the next 35 years, there was a huge amount of research on the river. In 1889, the Chind Canal was discovered, located north of the main mouths of the river. Two expeditions led by A. S-Hill Gibbons in (1895-1896) he continued the work of exploration begun by Livingston in the upper basin and the central course of the river. The Portuguese explorer Serpa Pinto studied some of the river's western tributaries and measured the Victoria Falls in 1878.

4. Wildlife

Zebra living in the Zambezi river basin

The Zambezi is home to a large number of wildlife populations. Hippos living on calm stretches of the river, many crocodiles. Monitor lizards, special species of birds including the heron, pelican, egret and African eagle. Coastal forests are inhabited by herds of large animals - buffaloes, zebras, giraffes and elephants. However, the number of large mammals is declining due to a decrease in the areas of flood pastures caused by the violation of the flood regime of the river by the dams of the Kariba and Cabora Bassa hydroelectric dams.

The Zambezi is home to several hundred species of fish, some of which are endemic. The most important are cichlids, catfish, catfish, terapons and others. In the river there is a bull shark (blunt-nosed shark), also known as Shark Zambezi although it is also found in other countries. These sharks live not only in sea waters on the coast, but also in the Zambezi and its tributaries inland. The bull shark is an aggressive shark that is known for its attacks on humans.

5. Economy

Zambezi near the Mongo River

The population of the Zambezi Valley is estimated at approximately 32 million people. About 80% of the population of the valley is engaged in agriculture, and the floodplain of the upper reaches of the river provides them with fertile soil.

Fishing is very intensive, as people from arid places are added to the local fishermen, who make quite long journeys to feed their families. In some towns in Zambia, unofficial fishing taxes are levied on roads leading to the river for people who come from another part of the country. As well as fishing for food, sport fishing is an essential part of the economy in some sections of the river. There are several safaris between Mongu and Livingston that cater to fishing tourists. Fish are also caught for sale to aquarium lovers.

The river valley is rich in minerals and fuel for the coal industry. Some stretches of the river are popular tourist destinations. Victoria Falls receives more than 1.5 million visitors a year, and Lake Kariba also receives a significant number of tourists.

6. Transport value

In its course, the river often passes through rapids and rapids and, thus, through navigation is impossible on it. However, for short distances it is much more convenient to travel along the river by boat than to travel along dirt roads regularly washed out by floods, and some villages can only be reached by water .

Throughout its length, the river is crossed by only five bridges. The bridge in Victoria Falls was the first, its construction was completed in April 1905. It was originally intended for the railway line planned by Cecil Rhodes from Cape Town to Cairo.

The length of the bridge is 250 m, the length of the central span is 150 m, the height of the bridge above the water surface is 125 m.

More recent bridges were built at Chirundu in [Zambia|Zambia], rebuilt in 2003), Tete in Mozambique (1960s) and Chinwingi in northern Zambia in the 1970s (pedestrian). In 2004, the bridge was completed between the cities of Seshek in Zambia and Katima Mulilo in Namibia - the last section of the Transcaprivi Highway connecting Lusaka in Zambia with Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast.

Characteristic

The style of this article is not encyclopedic or violates the norms of the Russian language. The article should be corrected according to the stylistic rules of Wikipedia.

The Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa. The area of the basin is 1,570,000 km, the length is 2,574 km. The source of the river is in Zambia, the river flows through Angola, along the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it flows into the Indian Ocean.

The most important attraction of the Zambezi is the Victoria Falls, one of the greatest waterfalls in the world.

Waterfalls: Chavuma on the border of Zambia and Angola and Ngambwe in Western Zambia. There are five bridges along the river through the Zambezi in the cities of Chinwingi, Katima Mulilo, Victoria Falls, Chirundu and Tete.

2 large hydroelectric power plants were built on the river - Kariba HPP, which provides electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Kabora-Bassa HPP in Mozambique, which provides electricity to Zimbabwe and South Africa. There is also a small power plant in Victoria Falls.

River flow

Zambezi Basin

Source

The source of the river is located in the black swamp region in northwestern Zambia, among forested hills at an altitude of about 1,500 meters above sea level. To the east of the source is a belt of uplands with rather steep northern and southern slopes, lying between 11 and 12 degrees south latitude. The watershed between the Congo and Zambezi river basins runs along this belt. It clearly separates the basin of the Luapala River (the main tributary of the upper Congo) from the Zambezi. In the vicinity of the source, the watershed is implicit, but these two river systems are not connected.

Upper reaches of the river

After about 240 km of movement to the southwest, the river turns south, where numerous tributaries flow into it. A few kilometers above Keyknji, the river expands from 100 to 350 meters, below Keyknji there are numerous rapids ending in the Chavama waterfall. The first of the Zambezi's large tributaries, the Kabompo River, is located in northern Zambia. A little to the south, an even larger river, the Langwebangu, flows into it. The savanna, through which the river flows, gives way to a shrub-bush with Borassas palm trees.

Zambezi River in North West Zambia

From a height of 1500 m above sea level at the source, after 350 km, in Keiknji, the river drops to approximately 1100 m. From this city to Victoria Falls, the river level practically does not change, dropping only another 180 m. In Langwebang the area becomes flat, and in the rainy season it is subject to major floods. 80 kilometers further downstream, the Luanjinga flows into the Zambezi, which, together with its tributaries, covers a large area in the west.

Below the confluence of the Luanjinga is the city - Lilui, one of the administrative centers of the Lozi people, who inhabit the semi-autonomous region of Zambia - Barotseland. King Lozi's annual move before the start of the rainy season from Lilui to Limalanga - the second residence further from the river - is a major part of the Zambian Kuomboka festival.

After Lilui, the river turns to the southeast. From the east, numerous small tributaries continue to flow into it, for 240 km, up to the confluence with the Kwando River, there is not a single western tributary. Before entering the Kwando, the river passes through a series of rapids and rapids, as well as the Ngambwe Falls, which makes navigation in this section impossible. South of the Ngambwe Falls, the Namibian border runs along the river, limiting the Caprivi strip - a narrow and long strip of Namibian territory, stretching from the main territory of Namibia up to the Zambezi River and tearing apart the territories of Botswana and Angola. Its origin is due to the desire of the then German South-West Africa during the colonial development to have access to the Zambezi River.

After the confluence of the Kwando and Zambezi, the river turns sharply to the east. At this point, the wide and shallow Zambezi flows slowly, and on its way to the east, to the border of the great Central African plateau, the river reaches a fault, into which it rushes down the Victoria Falls.

Middle Zambezi

Victoria Falls, the end of the upper Zambezi and the beginning of the middle Zambezi. View from above Victoria Falls in 1915. Front view

Victoria Falls is considered the border of the upper and middle Zambezi. Below it, the river continues to flow to the east, for about another 200 km between hills 200-250 meters high, cutting through 20-60-meter perpendicular walls of basalt and overcoming numerous rapids and rapids. In this section, the water line drops by 250 meters.

Finally, the river flows into the Caribbean reservoir (Lake Kariba), created in 1959 after the construction of the Kariba hydroelectric dam. This reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, and the Kariba hydroelectric power station provides electricity to much of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Luangwa and Kafue are the two main left tributaries of the Zambezi. Kafue joins the main river with a deep calm stream about 180 meters wide. At the confluence of the Luangwa, the river enters Mozambique.

The middle Zambezi ends at the confluence of the river into the Kahora Bassa reservoir, created in 1974 after the construction of the Kabora-Bassa hydroelectric dam.

Lower Zambezi

Zambezi Delta

The 650 km of the lower reaches of the Zambezi from the Cabora-Bass hydroelectric power station to the Indian Ocean are navigable, however, during the dry season, many shoals form on the river. This is due to the fact that the channel runs through a wide valley and the river spills over a large area. Only in a few places, such as the Lupata Gorge, 320 km from the mouth of the river, does the Zambezi flow in a canyon bounded by high hills. In this place, the width of the river is no more than 200 meters. In other places it is from 5 to 8 km and its course is extremely slow. The river bed in this area is sandy. In certain periods, and especially in the rainy season, the various channels of the river are combined into one wide and fast stream.

Approximately 160 km from the Zambezi Ocean through the Shire River is replenished with water from Lake Malawi. When approaching the Indian Ocean, the river splits into many branches and forms a wide delta. The four main branches - Milaimb, Kongoun, Luabo and Timbw - are not navigable due to large sand drifts. For navigation, only the northern branch of the Chind is used, which has a minimum depth of 2 meters at the beginning and 4 meters in the further course.

Today, the Zambezi Delta is twice as narrow (larger or smaller?) than it was before. This is due to the creation of the Kariba and Cabora-Bass hydroelectric power stations, which smooth out seasonal changes in the flow of the river.

tributaries

The Zambezi has numerous tributaries. The most important are described below in order of confluence from source to mouth.

The Kwando River, the largest of the river's western tributaries, has the ruined capital of the Macololo people on its lower reaches. It rises in Angola, and forms the border between Zambia and Angola for part of its course, before bending to the south, passing as a gentle east into the Zambezi. In this stretch east to the Kuando streams through a vast piercing swamp, with alluvial islands 110 km (70 miles), in its southern bend the Magwekwana joins. During floods, Magwecana receives some of the Okavango's excess water. This excess water, taken from most of the flow of the Kwando water, raises the level of the lake and keeps the waters of the Kwando up to some miles above it.

From the south, the middle Zambezi merges with the rivers Shangani, Sanyati, and Khanyani, in addition to minor flows, Mazo, which rises in Mashonaland, joins the Zambezi below Kahora Bassa Dam. .

River exploration

Satellite image showing the Victoria Falls and subsequent series of gorges

The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as the Monomotapa Empire, and the course of the river, as well as the positions of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given widely and accurately in early maps. They were probably built from Arabic information.

The first European to visit the upper Zambezi was David Livingstone on his journey from Bechuanaland between 1851 and 1853. Two or three years later he descended the Zambezi and on that trip discovered the Victoria Falls. During 1858-1860, accompanied by John Kirk, Livingston climbed upriver to the Congoun Falls and also traced the course of its tributary, the County, and discovered Lake Malawi.

Over the next 35 years, a number of studies of the river were carried out. In 1889, the Chind Canal was discovered, located north of the main mouths of the river. Two expeditions led by A. St. Hill Gibbons in (1895-1896) continued the work of exploration begun by Livingston in the upper basin and central course of the river. The Portuguese explorer Serpa Pinto studied some of the river's western tributaries and measured the Victoria Falls in 1878.

wild nature

Zebra living in the Zambezi river basin

The Zambezi is home to several hundred species of fish, some of which are endemic. The most important are cichlids, catfish, catfish, terapons and others. The river is home to the bull shark (blunt-nosed shark), also known as the Zambezi shark, although it is also found in other countries. These sharks live not only in sea waters on the coast, but also in the Zambezi and its tributaries inland.

Economy

Zambezi near the Mongo River

transport value

The length of the bridge is 250 m, the length of the central span is 150 m, the height of the bridge above the water surface is 125 m.

More recent bridges have been built at Chirundu in Zambia, rebuilt in 2003, Tete in Mozambique (1960s) and Chinwingi in northern Zambia in the 1970s (pedestrian). In 2004, the bridge was completed between the cities of Sesheke in Zambia and Katima Mulilo in Namibia - the last section of the Transcaprivi Highway connecting Lusaka in Zambia with Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast.

Ecology

Cabora Bassa reservoir in Mozambique

Wastewater discharge is the main cause of water pollution around cities. Due to the lack of treatment facilities, sewage is discharged into the river directly, without any treatment, which leads to the development of such serious diseases as cholera, typhus and dysentery.

The construction of two large dams to regulate the flow of the river has had a major impact on both wildlife and populated areas in the lower Zambezi. When the Cabora-Bassa hydroelectric dam was built in 1973, the reservoir it created was filled in just one rainy season, contrary to recommendations to fill it for at least two years.

The sharp decline in runoff has resulted in a 40% reduction in mangrove coverage, increased coastal erosion, and a 60% reduction in estuary shrimp catches due to reduced silt and mineral removal.

Main settlements

Along most of the course of the river, the population is small, there are the following cities on the river:

Mongu Lakalu Katima Mulilo (Namibia), Sesheke (Zambia) Livingston (Zambia), Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) Kariba Songo Tete

Literature (links)

Geographical collection of Countries and peoples, volume East and South Africa, Moscow, from-vo Mysl, 1981. Bento C. M., Beilfuss R. (2003), Wattled Cranes, Waterbirds, and Wetland Conservation in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique, report for the Biodiversity Foundation for Africa for the IUCN - Regional Office for Southern Africa: Zambezi Basin Wetlands Conservation and Resource Utilization Project. Bourgeois S., Kocher T., Schelander P. (2003), Case study: Zambezi river basin, ETH Seminar: Science and Politics of International Freshwater Management 2003/04 Davies B. R., Beilfuss R., Thoms M. C. (2000), "Cahora Bassa retrospective, 1974-1997: effects of flow regulation on the Lower Zambezi River, Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnologie, 27, 1-9 Dunham KM (1994), The effect of drought on the large mammal populations of Zambezi riverine woodlands, Journal of Zoology, v. 234, p. 489-526 Wynn S. (2002), "The Zambezi River - Wilderness and Tourism", International Journal of Wilderness, 8, 34.

Links (Internet)

Zambezi River Authority Zambezi Society Map of Africa Zambezi Basin Rivers of Africa

Zambezi River is the fourth longest river in Africa. In addition, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls, is located in its course. And among rafters, the river is known as the most extreme rafting river in the world. The Zambezi River was first explored by Livingston only in 1851, and already in 1959 people created here one of the largest artificial lakes in the world - Lake Kariba. Kariba HPP provides electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Rafting on the Zambezi River, video:

See also a beautiful 360 aerial panorama made over the Victoria Falls. You can see all the surroundings.

Characteristics of the Zambezi River

River length: 2,660 km.

Watershed area: 1,570,000 sq. km.

Where does it run: The river originates in the northwest of Zambia. The height of the source above sea level is 1500 m. To the east of the source is a series of hills that separate the basins of the Zambezi and Congo rivers. In addition to Victoria Falls, there are several other notable waterfalls on the Zambeze River. On the border of Zambia and Angola, this is the Chavuma Falls and Nagambwe, in the west of Zambia. Before the Victoria Falls, the river flows in a wide shallow channel. Below the waterfall, the river changes its course and forms a series of rapids that attract many rafters to these places. The river turns to the northeast, and then flows in an easterly direction to the rapids of Chicaronda. From here the river flows in a southeasterly direction in a wide channel and narrows in only one place, passing through the Lupat hills. Flowing into the Indian Ocean, the Zambezi River forms a wide delta with an area of 5000 square meters at the mouth. km. The channels of the delta are covered with dense thickets of mangrove forests. True, with the construction of dams, its size has halved.

Food, river regime: The Zambezi is a powerful river. Although the Zambezi ranks only fourth in Africa in terms of length, it comes second in terms of annual flow and is second only to the Congo River. The Zambezi mainly receives food from abundant summer rains (in these latitudes, summer lasts from November to March). At other times of the year, the river is much less full-flowing. The regime of the river is characterized by a rapid decrease in the water level in March and a subsequent rise in November.

An interesting fact: the river has a large volume of solid runoff; in this parameter, among the rivers of Africa, it is second only to Orange. It is thanks to such a large volume of solid runoff that the river forms a delta at its mouth.

Main tributaries: Luene, Lungoeungo, Madchilu, Kabompo, Kwando, Gwai, Umfule, Gamyanu, Luangwa, Shire and others.

Biological resources, inhabitants: hippos love to cool off in the waters of the river; they can be found here in very large numbers. Also, there are crocodiles, herons, pelicans, African eagles. Bull sharks often swim out of the ocean.

Zambezi Riveron the map:

The Zambezi River is one of the four huge rivers in Africa, of course, after the Nile, Niger, Congo (Zaire). The upper course of the Zambezi begins in a swampy area, in the northern territory of Zambia, on the Lunda plateau located at an altitude of 1500 meters and goes southwest, and after about 240 kilometers it turns south, while taking in small rivers and feeding on groundwater . All the way in the sources, like faithful guards, impenetrable deciduous forests accompany. At the exit from them in Angola, the Zambezi River flows between the tall grass savannah, past the dry, clear forest: the trees there stand at a great distance from each other, low lianas and shrubs grow among them. On the territory of the Chavuma Falls, the Zambezi, overcoming the rapids, flows back to Zambia. Visit .

The height of the plateau in this place is approximately 1100 meters, and the width of the river reaches more than 350 meters in the rainy season. Starting from a waterfall called Chavuma and up to the Ngwambe waterfall, the Zambezi River absorbs the large tributaries of the Lungwebungd and Kabombo, and after the Barotse floodplain begins, after 30 kilometers the landscape of the Zambezi banks becomes flat, the water flow in this place becomes slow and turns south East. Visit .

80 kilometers downstream, the Luanjinga River flows into the Zambezi from the western part. During the rainy season, Barotse is flooded and just at this time the Zambezi reaches 25 kilometers in width. Where is it, see here.

A little lower, rapids and stirrups begin, which end with the Ngonye waterfall. This area of the Zambezi is suitable for navigation. Then the Zambezi takes in the abundant river Kwando. It is on this territory that the border between Zambia and Angola runs, after which a small border with Namibia appears - the completion of the one-way corridor of this state, which wedged between Angola. Having united with Kwando, the Zambezi River flows already at an altitude of almost 920 meters above sea level, turns east, then slows down its course, as if preparing to collapse the Victoria Falls, which is the most famous natural asset.

The waterfall, called Mosioatunya by the natives, which means "thundering smoke", was seen by the very first European - the famous African researcher D. Livingston. It happened on November 17, 1855, during his wanderings in the Zambezi.

River characteristic

He named the waterfall after the British queen. Later he wrote about him: “Angels must have looked at such beautiful places when they flew. The waterfall is about 1800 meters wide, the water falls from 80-108 meters, in the rainy season it drops 9100 cubic meters of water per second. Fog and spray they rise about 400 meters above the falling water stream, and maybe even higher.The sound can be heard from 30 kilometers away, which is why it is called explosive smoke.Another 200 kilometers, the Zambezi River passes between hills, their height is 200-250 meters, basalt rocks, whose height is 20-60 meters, speeding up on rapids and rapids.Another attraction and the main hydraulic structure on the Zambezi River is the Kariba Dam, as well as its reservoir, which arose in 1959 in the Caribbean Cave.

The Itezhi-Tezhi dam, located on the Kafue River, is a large left tributary in the middle reaches of the Zambezi, adding its part of its energy to it. At the place where the next left tributary of the Luangwa flows, the Zambezi flows through Mozambique, is 650 kilometers long, and they are navigable. In this place, there is another hydraulic structure, a reservoir and a dam - Kahora-Bassa, which was built in 1974. The width of the Zambezi River in Mozambique is 5-8 kilometers in the rainy season. Only 320 kilometers from the mouth of the Zambezi River is in the gorge of the Lupata canyon, the width of which is no more than 200 meters. The Shire River flows out of Lake Nyasa and flows into the Zambezi 160 kilometers from the mouth. The largest branches of the delta covered with mangrove forests are: Milaimb, Luabo, Kongoun, Timbw. However, only one is navigable, Shende has a single port, which is also called Zambezi.

The river valley in its middle and upper reaches is located in the climatic zone where the trade winds of the southern and northern hemispheres converge. When the months of scorching heat end, starting in November, the skies over the Zambezi become heavy thundercloud layers that bring down rain walls, and all animals tend to water, spilling over the plains sometimes up to 25 kilometers away. Only small islands of land can protrude to the surface. Herds of black antelopes, as well as wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes and other animals rush to these places from the remote areas of South and Central Africa.