Zambezi

The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is a very long river in Africa. It is the fourth-longest river in Africa and the longest river that flows east into the Indian Ocean.

The Zambezi starts in Zambia and flows through several countries. It goes through Angola, along the border of Namibia and Botswana, and then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Finally, it reaches Mozambique and flows into the Indian Ocean.

One famous feature of the Zambezi is Victoria Falls, a powerful waterfall that many people visit. The river also has other falls, like Chavuma Falls and Ngonye Falls.

The Zambezi helps provide energy. Two large dams, the Kariba Dam and the Cahora Bassa Dam, make hydroelectric power for the countries it flows through. Smaller power stations at Victoria Falls and Zengamina also help.

Course

Origins

The Zambezi River starts in a wet, marshy area in Zambia, called a dambo, surrounded by special trees and plants. The land around it helps keep the Zambezi separate from the Congo River.

Upper Zambezi

From its start, the Zambezi flows southwest into Angola and then turns south. It grows wider in the rainy season and passes through forests and grasslands. When it returns to Zambia, it becomes very wide and fast, with rapids and falls like the Chavuma Falls. One of its important tributaries is the Kabompo River, and the river passes through a wide floodplain area known as the Barotse Floodplain.

Middle Zambezi

After the Victoria Falls, the river flows east through a narrow gorge called the Batoka Gorge, which is fun for kayakers and rafters. The river then fills Lake Kariba, a huge lake made by a dam, which provides power to nearby countries. Two big rivers, the Luangwa and the Kafue, join the Zambezi before it enters Mozambique.

Lower Zambezi

The lower part of the Zambezi, from a place called Cahora Bassa to the Indian Ocean, can be used for boats, though it is often shallow. The river spreads out wide in many places but narrows in the Lupata Gorge. Near the ocean, the river splits into several channels and forms a delta, with one channel, the Chinde mouth, being deep enough for ships to use.

Discharge

This section shows how much water the Zambezi River usually carries at Marromeu. It also shows the least and most water seen there from 1998 to 2022.

Delta

The Zambezi River’s delta is narrower now because of dams built upstream. Before the dams, the river would flood every year. This flooding brought water and nutrients to the wetlands near the Indian Ocean. It helped plants and animals in the area.

After the dams were built in the 1960s and 1970s, the floods became smaller and less frequent. This change has made life harder for fish, birds, and other wildlife. There is also less grass for animals and cattle to eat. Traditional farming and fishing have been affected.

The delta still has many kinds of plants and animals. It has flooded grasslands, savannas, and forests near the water. Even with less flooding, the area is still home to many species, including buffalo, waterbuck, reedbuck, and eland. There are also lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals. The wetlands attract many birds, such as pintails, storks, and pelicans. The region is also home to reptiles like crocodiles, monitor lizards, and various snakes.

Climate

The northern part of the Zambezi river basin gets a lot of rain, about 1,100 to 1,400 millimetres each year. The rain gets less as you move toward the southwest. The rain falls during the summer rainy season, which lasts 4 to 6 months, from October to March. Even with much rain, some disappears because of high evaporation, especially in the swamps and floodplains in the southwest.

Wildlife

The Zambezi River is home to many animals. You can find hippopotamuses in calm parts of the river, along with Nile crocodiles. There are also monitor lizards and many kinds of birds such as herons, pelicans, egrets, lesser flamingos, and African fish eagles.

The areas near the river support large animals like buffalo, zebras, giraffes, and elephants. The river also has many fish species, including cichlids, catfish, tigerfish, and yellowfish. Some people call the bull Shark the Zambezi shark, but it is different from the freshwater sharks that live in the river.

Tributaries

The Zambezi River has many smaller rivers that flow into it, called tributaries. These rivers come from different places and add their water to the Zambezi.

Some of the rivers in the upper part of the Zambezi include the Chifumage River and the Luena River from Angola, the Kabompo River from Zambia’s northwest highlands, and the Lungwebungu River also from Angola’s central plateau.

In the middle part, important rivers include the Gwayi, Sengwa, and Sanyati Rivers from Zimbabwe, as well as the Kafue River from west-central Zambia and the Copperbelt, the Luangwa River from the Luangwa Rift Valley, and the Panhane River from north-central Zimbabwe’s plateau.

In the lower part, rivers such as the Luia River, the Luenha River or Mazoe River from northeast Zimbabwe, and the Shire River from the Lake Malawi basin flow into the Zambezi.

The total area where water collects and flows into the Zambezi is very large, about 1,390,000 km². The northern parts of this area contribute more water than the southern parts.

Geological history

Long ago, more than two million years back, the upper part of the Zambezi River flowed in a different direction. It used to go south through a place now called the Makgadikgadi Pan and join the Limpopo River. This changed because the land moved and lifted up, shifting where the rivers go.

At the same time, far to the east, a smaller river in Malawi was carving out a deep valley. The middle part of the Zambezi began to shift westward very slowly. It captured other rivers flowing south, like the Luangwa and Kafue. Eventually, it reached and drained the large lake that once sat in the Makgadikgadi area. This change also affected the upper Zambezi. A big waterfall formed where the upper river met the lower part, near where Victoria Falls is today.

History

Etymology

The first European to see the Zambezi River was Vasco da Gama in 1498. He called a small nearby river Rio dos Bons Sinais, meaning "River of Good Omens." Later, the river became known as the Cuama River. By the 1500s, people near the river called it Zambeze. The name likely comes from a group of people who lived near a large lake far to the north.

Over time, the river was known by many names. Some called it Leeambye, meaning "large river." Others used names like Luambeji or Ambezi. In some records, it was called Kasambabezi.

Economy

The Zambezi River Valley is home to many people. Most of them work by farming, and the land near the river is good for growing food.

People living by the river enjoy fishing, and many come from far away to catch fish. In some Zambian towns, people pay fees to take fish to other places. Fishing for fun and for food is popular. Between Mongu and Livingstone, several safari lodges attract tourists who want to fish and also sell fish to aquaria.

The river valley has many valuable minerals and fuels, and coal mining provides jobs. Dams along the river offer work for people who take care of the power stations and dams. The river is a popular place for tourists. Victoria Falls welcomes many visitors each year. Mana Pools and Lake Kariba also attract many visitors.

Transport

The Zambezi River has fast-moving sections called rapids. This makes it hard to use for long trips by boat. A famous explorer tried to use small steam boats on the river but could not get past the big rapids.

In the 1930s and 1940s, some small boats could move between two points on the river. This depended on how much water was flowing. Sometimes people helped the boats through the rapids, and other times they pulled the boats over land around the difficult spots.

Today, there are more roads and bridges crossing the river. Some important bridges include one near Victoria Falls, which was built in 1905, and a newer bridge opened in 2021 connecting Zambia and Botswana. There are also many small boats and ferries that help people cross the river in different places.

Ecology

The Zambezi River faces many environmental challenges. Untreated sewage from cities pollutes the water, harming the river's health. Building dams has also changed the river, reducing wildlife habitats and affecting fish populations.

Efforts are being made to protect the area, including plans for a large conservation zone covering several countries. Many national parks along the river help protect its wildlife. Fish populations have declined due to overfishing, but rules like closing seasons and protecting certain areas aim to help fish recover.

Major towns

The Zambezi River flows through areas with few people, but some important towns and cities are along its path. These include Katima Mulilo in Namibia, towns in Zambia like Livingstone, Mongu, Lukulu, Senanga, and Sesheke, and Victoria Falls and Kariba in Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, there are towns such as Songo and Tete, and in Angola, there is Cazombo.