The Zambezi (also spelled Zambesi) is a river in Southern Africa. The 2,750 km long river has its source in Zambia and flows through Angola, along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it empties into the Indian Ocean. The Zambezi's most spectacular feature is Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia.
Amazingly, over its entire course, the Zambezi is spanned by only four bridges: at Chinyingi, Victoria Falls, Chirundu and Tete.
The wide Zambezi flood plains of Western Zambia are the homeland of the Lozi people. The chief of the Lozi has two compounds, at Lealui and Limulunga, the latter being on high ground and thus serving as the capital during the rainy season. The annual move from Lealui to Limulunga is a major event, celebrated one of Zambia's best known festivals, the Kuomboka.
There are two main sources of hydro-electric power on the river. These are the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique which provides power to South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.
Eastward of the source the watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins is a well-marked belt of high ground, falling abruptly north and south, and running nearly east-west between 11 and 12° S. This distinctly cuts off the basin of the Luapula (the main branch of the upper Congo) from that of the Zambezi.
The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as the Empire of Monomotapa, and the course of the river, as well as the position of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given broadly accurately in early maps.
The drastic reduction in the flow of the river led to a 40% reduction in the coverage of mangroves, greatly increased erosion of the coastal region and a 60% reduction in the catch of prawns off the mouth due to the reduction in emplacement of silt and associate nutrients.
Eastward of the source the watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins is a well-marked belt of high ground, falling abruptly north and south, and running nearly east-west between 11 and 12° S. This distinctly cuts off the basin of the Luapula (the main branch of the upper Congo) from that of the Zambezi.
The lower Zambezi's 650 km (400 miles) from Cahora Bassa to the Indian Ocean is navigable, although the river is shallow in many places during the dry season.
The region drained by the Zambezi is a vast broken-edged plateau 900–1200 metres high, composed in the remote interior of metamorphic beds and fringed with the igneous rocks of the Victoria Falls.
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