The Victoria Falls are the most famous tourist attraction in Zambia. The falls are on the border between the states of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls are a world-famous natural wonder and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a width of around 1.7 kilometers, it is the widest waterfall in the world. The fog is rising up to 300 m, it creates magnificent rainbows.

The roaring waterfall is fed by the Zambezi, one of the largest rivers in Africa. In thousands of years the Zambezi has cut a valley into the basalt. The basalt formations lie zigzag underground. The Victoria Falls are either very wide or very narrow, depending on the orientation of the basalt formation. The Zambezi currently cuts through an east-west layer, so the waterfalls are very wide. In front of the falls, the Zambezi is a wide river, behind the falls the water rushes through a narrow gorge.

The name "Victoria Falls" comes from the Scottish Africa explorer David Livingstone, who in 1855 was the first European to discover the waterfalls. He named the natural wonder after Queen Victoria. The local population calls the waterfall Mosi oa Tunya (thundering smoke).

Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls Bridge spans the Zambezi and connects the two countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 198 m long bridge therefore has border stations on both sides. The bridge was planned by the British colonial government. It was part of a planned railway line from Cape Town to Cairo. The Victoria Falls Bridge opened in 1905. It is a steel truss arch bridge that was produced in England and transported to Africa in individual parts. Next to the railway line there is a road and a footpath.

Victoria Falls Bridge

With a length of around 2,600 kilometers, the Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa. The source of the river is in the north of Zambia, on the border with the Congo. The Zambezi flows into the Indian Ocean in Mozambique. The river is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, it also flows through Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique. The Zambezi is the most important river in the southern Africa.

The city of Livingstone in Zambia is the gateway to the Victoria Falls. The town is about 10 kilometers north of the falls. The city was named after David Livingstone and was founded in 1904 for the construction of the Victoria Falls Bridge. Livingstone has an airport and the Livingstone Museum. The city has around 150,000 inhabitants and is significantly larger than the city of Victoria Falls in neighboring Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls has about 50,000 inhabitants, but is located directly on the waterfalls. When visiting Victoria Falls, one should visit the lookout points on either side of the border. Livingstone is at an altitude of 920 m above sea level. The distance to the capital Lusaka is around 380 kilometers as the crow flies.

Livingstone