Victoria Falls

General Information

Victoria Falls is an amazing waterfall in southern Africa. The falls are between Zambia and Zimbabwe, about halfway between the opening and the beginning of the Zambezi River. The British explorer David Livingstone saw Victoria Falls in 1855. He named it after The Queen Victoria of Britain.

The river that flows toward or the falls is called the Zambezi River. It is about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide at the falls and suddenly drops into a deep, narrow gap. A canyon about 64 kilometers (40 miles) long allows the water to flow out. The heights of the falls are from 78 meters (256 feet) at the Right Bank to 108 meters (355 feet) in the center.

The mist and spray that are created by the falls can be seen from very far away. This cloud and the roar caused the people of the area to name the falls “Mosi oa Tunya,” which means, “Smoke that Thunders.”
A bridge crosses the river just below the point where the waters come out of the gap.
 
 

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