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Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls is the largest curtain of water in the world at 1708
meters, with a drop of 100 meters into the Zambezi Gorge. More than 550,000
cubic meters of water plummet over the edge each minute. Victoria Falls and the surrounding area are now part of a
National Park and a World Heritage Site. Although spectacular all year, after
the rain season from February on, the river and falls are the most
awe-inspiring, with the heaviest flow and volume of spray.
The original waterfall was about 8 kilometers (4 miles) downstream from its
present location. Over the last two million years, the erosive force of the
river cut seven subsequent gorges, each further upstream. More recently, in
November 1855, David Livingstone, a missionary and explorer from Scotland, and
one of the most respected individuals of the Victorian age, arrived at the
falls in a canoe with members of the Makalolo tribe. It was Livingstone who
named the falls after his monarch, Queen Victoria.
Archaeological sites around the falls have yielded Homo habilis stone artifacts
from 3 million years ago, 50,000-year-old Middle Stone Age tools and Late Stone
Age (10,000 and 2,000 years ago) weapons, adornments and digging tools. By the
time Livingstone arrived, the falls were well known to local tribes, and the
Arabs may have known of them also, under a name equivalent to "the end of
the world".
Livingstone described the falls in letter, "No one can imagine the beauty
of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before
by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in
their flight.
Today, Victoria Falls still constitutes one of the most spectacular natural
wonders of the world. Called Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders by the
locals, an almost constant column of spray saturates the area during high
water, and the constant thunder of the water. A variety of wildlife can be seen
just upstream, including crocodiles, hippos, elephants, monkeys and a wide
variety of birdlife.
David Livingstone also gave his name to the town on the Zambian side of the
Falls which has become something of an adventure sports haven in Southern
Africa. In addition to more sedate activities, like sunset boat cruises on the
upper Zambezi, visitors can microlight, take
scenic light aircraft and helicopter flights, go on an elephant back safari,
brave the white-water rafting on the lower Zambezi or bungee jump an
exhilarating 111 meters down into the Zambezi Gorge.
