On the Zambezi River in South Africa, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, there is one of the largest in terms of water flow and capacity and, besides this, undoubtedly the most beautiful waterfall in the world - Victoria. Its width is 1800 m, height - 120 m, water flow rate - from 1.4 thousand to 14 thousand m³ / s.
Victoria Falls is a breathtaking spectacle of frightening beauty and splendor, which the locals call Mosi-oa-Tunya "thundering smoke" (spray rising from the waterfall forms a cloud that rises to a height of 400 m and higher, and is visible at a distance of up to 50 km, from afar similar to smoke, almost at the same distance a thunderous rumble is heard), or Seongo (Chongue), which means "rainbow", one of the most picturesque and enchanting spectacles on the African continent. Here the mighty Zambezi River falls down, forming a water curtain about 2 km long.
Geographic coordinates 17 ° 55'28 ″ south latitude; 25 ° 51'24 ″ east longitude.
How the name Victoria appeared
The waterfall owes its name to David Livingston. He was the discoverer and the first white man to see him in 1855 and decided to name him after Queen Victoria of England. When the local natives took him to the waterfall and showed him 546 million liters of water, which every minute crash into a hundred-meter abyss, David was so shocked by what he saw that he immediately christened him with the name of Queen Victoria.
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History
It should be noted that the structure of the waterfall is unique. In ancient times, the deep tectonic forces of the Earth split the incredibly strong basalt into boulders, and a huge crack appeared across the Zambezi channel, 100-120 m wide from one coast to the other and as deep as a 40-storey building. If you swim upstream to the waterfall, you get the impression that the river goes underground, because right in front of the traveler you can see the "shore". The waters of the Zambezi, squeezed by a narrow gorge, boil, boil, foam, and all this accompanied by a terrible roar.
Livingston drew attention to the absolutely unusual microstructure of water jets, describing them as follows: “Each drop of Zambezi water gives the impression of having its own personality. It flows down from the oars and slides like beads on a smooth surface, like drops of mercury on a table … Each drop continues as a pure white vapor …"
In the 19th century, admiring the Victoria Falls took a long journey. So, D. Livingstone made his way to the water stream, accompanied by 300 soldiers of the leader Selectu. However, the locals were afraid to approach Mosi-oa-Tunya itself, considering it the habitat of some formidable deity, therefore only two natives came directly to the waterfall with Livingstone. It was then that an amazingly beautiful sight appeared before the gaze of a European: numerous ring rainbows. In addition, at the Victoria Falls, you can observe a rare natural phenomenon - lunar rainbows, especially beautiful ones on a full moon.
Victoria Falls. Description
Victoria is a complex system often referred to as Victoria Falls. If you look from an airplane in the direction from west to east, the system will look like this: Devils-Cataract (Devil's Falls), Cataract Island, Main Falls (Main Cascade), Livingston Island, Horseshoe ("horseshoe"), Rainbow Falls ("Rainbow"), Armchear Island ("armchair") and Eastern Cataract (East Falls). The river is chosen from the abyss along a natural bed 70-120 meters wide, called Boiling Pot, which means "boiling pot". Raging, the river passes through a zigzag canyon of three knees, each 1.5 km long, and only after breaking out onto the plain, its flow calms down.
The depth of the abyss, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 m at its western end to 108 m in the center. The entire volume of the Zambezi River flows through the 110 m wide outlet of the First Gorge for a distance of about 150 m, then enters a zigzag row of gorges, defined in accordance with which the river reaches them. The water that enters the Second Gorge makes a sharp sharp turn and cuts through a deep pool called the Cooking Pot.
National parks
The falls are located in two national parks - Thundering Smoke in Zambia and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Both are small in area, 66 and 23 km², respectively.
The territory of the national parks is home to wild animals, including numerous herds of elephants and families of giraffes, and hippos live in the river.
Interesting Facts
• Nowadays, thousands of tourists from different countries come to Victoria Falls every year. Most of them argue that the mist of Victoria makes a special impression in the evenings, when "the dying sun throws a golden-yellow stream of rays on the water columns, painting them in a gray-yellow color, and then it seems that some fantastic giant torches are standing over the water." …
• Immediately after the waterfall, there is a section of the river with many rapids, which attracts fans of kayaking and rafting. The rapids are quite safe for novice tourists, with a large flow of water there are no dangerous stones, and after all the rapids there are sections of smooth water.
• The waterfall can be observed from several viewing platforms. One of the most successful can be considered the bridge called "Knife's Blade" - you can see powerful streams of water and a place called "Boiling Cauldron", where the river turns and goes into the Batoka gorge. It is very good to evaluate this most beautiful place from the railway bridge, which is thrown over the waterfall, as well as from the "Observation Tree". There, the waterfall appears in all its frightening power and beauty.
• During the excursion, you can go canoeing or rafting on the river, go on a safari, go horseback riding or elephant trekking. For thrill-seekers, bungee jumping is offered - jumping from the highest point of the waterfall on a rope.
• The territory of the national parks, where the waterfall is located, is home to zebras, antelopes, lions and other animals.