Zambezi River

The Zambezi River is one of the many natural wonders in Africa. It is the longest river in Zimbabwe and there are many tourist attractions on both sides of the river. Your trip to Zimbabwe will remain incomplete if you don’t watch the picturesque features of this river.

The Zambezi River (also spelt out Zambesi) is the biggest river in Zimbabwe. The river spans 1,599 miles or 2,574 km. The source of the river is in Zambia and subsequently, the river flows through a number of countries before meeting the Indian Ocean. Given below are the names of the different countries through which the river flows:

• Zambia
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Namibia
• Angola
• Zimbabwe
• Botswana
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Tanzania
  
  The Zambezi River has an overall basin area of 1,390,000 km² (536,682 sq mi). The most attractive feature of Zambezi is the gorgeous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Other important waterfalls on the river include the following:
• Ngonye Falls, close to Sioma in Western Zambia
• Chavuma Falls (at the boundary between Angola and Zambia)
  
  The two major sources of hydroelectric power on the Zambezi River are the following:
• Kariba Dam (supplies power to Zambia and Zimbabwe)
• Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique (supplies power to both South Africa and Mozambique)
  
  In addition, there is a smaller hydroelectric power station located at Victoria Falls.
  
  

  Course of Zambezi River

  
  The course of the river is categorized into the upper Zambezi, middle Zambezi, and lower Zambezi. The Victoria Falls are regarded as the border between the upper and middle Zambezi. This area is suitable for one of the most amazing white-water rafting trips. Thousands of rafters and kayakers visit this place to take part in the adrenaline pumping adventure sports and other activities. Lake Kariba in middle Zambezi was formed in 1959 after the accomplishment of Kariba Dam. Lake Kariba is one of the biggest manmade lakes in the whole world. The dam is also used as a hydroelectric power generating facility, which supplies most parts of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
  
  The Kafue and Luangwa are the two biggest left-hand confluents of the river. At the meeting point of the Lungwa River, Zambezi enters Mozambique.
  
  

  Tributaries of Middle Zambezi

  
  The entire Middle Zambezi comes under the Zimbabwean territory. Middle Zambezi cumulatively has a basin area of 1,050,000 km². The discharge rate is 2442 m³/s, calculated at Cahora Bassa Gorge
  
  Given below are the names of the tributaries of Middle Zambezi, their basin areas, discharge rates, and area drained:
  
  (Middle portion by itself: Middle Zambezi has a basin area of 542,800 km² and discharge rate of 1398 m³/s (calculated at Cahora Bassa–Victoria Falls).
  
  Gwembe Catchment, basin area is 156,600 km², discharge rate is 232 m³/s (calculated at Kariba Gorge–Vic Falls):
• Gwayi River: Basin area 54,610 km², Northwest Zimbabwe
• Sanyati River: Basin area 43,500 km², North-central Zimbabwe
• Sengwa River: Basin area 25,000 km², North-central Zimbabwe
  
  Kariba Gorge to C. Bassa catchment, basin area is 386200 km², discharge rate is 1166 m³/s (calculated at Cahora Bassa–Kariba Gorge):
• Kafue River: Basin area 154,200 km², discharge rate 285 m³/s, West-central Zambia and Copperbelt
• Luangwa River: Basin area 151,400 km², discharge rate 547 m³/s, Luangwa Rift Basin and tableland Northwest of it
• Panhane River: Basin area 23,897 km², North-central Zimbabwe tableland
  
  

  Bridges on Zambezi River

  
  A number of bridges have been built on the river and the number is going up. Important bridges built are as follows:
• Cazombo road bridge - Angola
• Chinyingi suspension footbridge, close to the Zambezi town
• Katima Mulilo road bridge, between Sesheke in Zambia and Namibia, 900 meters (3,000 feet), opened in 2004
• Kazungula Bridge - in August 2007
• Victoria Falls Bridge (road and rail), completed in April 1905, length is 250 meters (820 ft)
• Kariba Dam bears the cemented Kariba/Siavonga main road
• Otto Beit Bridge at Chirundu, road bridge, 382 meters (1,253 feet), built in 1939
• Second Chirundu Bridge, road, 400 meters (1,300 feet), built in 2002
• Cahora Bassa Dam
• Tete Suspension Bridge, 1-kilometer (1,000 m) road bridge (1970s)
• Dona Ana Bridge, a railway bridge, which was switched into a one-lane road bridge in 1935
• Caia Bridge – Construction work of this road bridge began in 2007
  
  

  Wildlife of Zambezi River

  
  The only preserved area of the Zambezi River basin is the Marromeu Game Reserve, close to the city of Beira in Mozambique. The diverse variety of wildlife is one of the principal attractions of the river.
  
  In spite of the fact that the area has witnessed a decline in the number of the big mammals, it still houses some like the migrating antelope and Reedbuck. You will see carnivores like leopard (Panthera pardus), lion (Panthera leo), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and side-striped jackal (Canis adustus). The river basins are a sanctuary for migrant waterbirds like Garganey, Pintails, Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus), Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), and Wattled Crane.
  
  Reptiles found in this area include the following:
• Nile monitor lizard (varanus niloticus)
• Nile crocodile (crocodylus niloticus)
• The indigenous Pungwe worm snake (Leptotyphlops pungwensis)
• African rock python (python sebae)
  
  You will find three other snakes here that are almost indigenous and they are as follows:
• Dwarf wolf snake (Lycophidion nanus)
• Floodplain Water Snake (Lycodonomorphus whytei obscuriventris)
• Eyebrow viper (Proatheris)
  
  You will also find a variety of indigenous butterflies.
  
  The river backs big numbers of different types of animals. You will see plenty of hippopotamuses and crocodiles in the river. Monitor lizards are seen in various areas. Different types of birds also come to this place like pelican, heron, African Fish Eagle, and egret. Forest on both sides of the river is home to several big creatures like zebras, elephants, giraffes, and buffalos.
  
  Zambezi is also home to different types of fishes and some of them are indigenous to the river. Major species include cichlids that are angled a lot for food and tigerfish, catfish, yellowfish, and other big types. On certain occasions, the bull shark is called as the Zambezi Shark, however it is seen across the world. It mostly lives in seashore waters but has been discovered in the interiors of various long rivers like the Zambezi. The bull shark is an attacking shark, which has been witnessed to cause many attempts on human beings.