The Victoria Falls also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (name used by local people) is a waterfall situated in southern Africa between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the major tourist attractions in Africa, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By some measures, the falls are considered the largest waterfall in the world. The claim is not based on it being the highest or widest, rather, it is due to it being 1.7 kilometers wide, and 108 meters high, which forms the largest sheet of falling water in the world.
Shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia, both countries have a national park to protect the falls with their respective tourism centers: Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and Livingstone in Zambia, and Victoria Falls National Park and the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
With the unusual form of Victoria Falls allows a face-on view of virtually its whole width, at the same level as the top, from as close as 60 metres, due to the whole Zambezi River dropping into a deep, narrow slotlike chasm, connected to a long series of gorges.
When the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a chasm that is 60–120 metres (200–400 ft) wide, results in the formation of the falls. First Gorge which is the depth of the chasm, varies from 80 meters at its western end to 108 meters in the center.
Two large islands, Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle, located on the crest of the falls divide the curtain of water.
During the dry season, the number of islets on the crest increases, and also becomes wide. During the month of September to January, up to half of the rocky face of the falls may become dry, and the bottom of the First Gorge can be seen along most of its length. This makes it possible to walk across some stretches of the river at the crest, though this is not necessarily a safe thing to do. It is also possible to walk to the bottom of the First Gorge at the Zimbabwean side.
Visitors can do a number of activities, one of which, the 'Flight of Angels' which provides a fabulous vista of the falls, the upstream river and its many islands. Microlighting which provides stunning views of the Fall will be enjoyed by more adventurous people. One of the very popular adventures is rafting the wild rapids below the Falls. Visitors can also go kayaking, Canoeing and fishing. Land based activities includes a guided safari walk, horseback riding, and a lunch on Livingstone's Island, an energy regaining activity.
Information/Facts:
- Located in Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Standing 108 meters in height
- Flowing an at average rate of 1088 cubic meters/second
Principal Gorges:
- First Gorge: where river falls into at Victoria Falls
- Second Gorge: (spanned by the Victoria Falls Bridge), 250 m south of falls, 2.15 km long
- Third Gorge: 600 m south, 1.95 km long
- Fourth Gorge: 1.15 km south, 2.25 km long
- Fifth Gorge: 2.55 km south, 3.2 km long
- Songwe Gorge: 5.3 km south, 3.3 km long, (named after the small Songwe River coming from the north-east)
- Batoka Gorge: about120 kilometres long, it is the gorge below the Songwe (Batoka is also used as an umbrella name for all the gorges).
The information featured here are from the following web references. You may check the links for additional information, including travel details and photo galleries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/509
http://www.places.co.za/html/vicfalls.html
To vote for Victoria Falls for the New 7 Wonders, visit:
http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/africa/c/VictoriaFallsWaterfall/
To vote for other nominees, and for current live ranking information, visit:
http://www.new7wonders.com/
or
http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/
The following images are from the following web sites:
