the setting
The Zambezi above Victoria Falls: the river you dine on
How long the river is, what it does before the drop and what the falls' names mean.
Reserve the Zambezi dinner cruise ↗The river and the falls in numbers
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Length of the Zambezi | 2,574 km |
| Rank among African rivers | Fourth-longest |
| Width of Victoria Falls | 1,708 m |
| Greatest height of the falls | 108 m |
| Typical height of the spray | More than 400 m |
A long road to the sea
The Zambezi rises in north-western Zambia and flows through Angola, along the borders of Namibia and Botswana, then between Zambia and Zimbabwe before crossing Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.
The border at the falls
At Victoria Falls the river is the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each side has a national park, and the Zimbabwean town stands on the south bank at the western end of the falls.
Level basalt and wooded islands
Upstream of the drop the river crosses a level sheet of basalt in a shallow valley. Tree-covered islands dot the course and grow more numerous the closer it gets to the falls.
Mosi-oa-Tunya
The Lozi name means the smoke that thunders. David Livingstone named the falls for Queen Victoria after seeing them in November 1855, and both names appear on the World Heritage List.
Wet season, dry season
Rain falls from late November to early April, and the annual flood peaks around April. From September to January up to half of the rocky face of the falls may run dry, which changes how the drop looks.
The town on the south bank
Victoria Falls town grew after the railway from Bulawayo arrived shortly before the bridge opened in April 1905. Tourism is its main industry, and it lies a few kilometres from Livingstone.