Victoria Falls got its name in honor of the English Queen Victoria. It was discovered in 1855 by the famous Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingston. In the local dialect, the waterfall is called "Mosi-oa-Tunya", which means "Thundering Smoke". So it was called by the people of the Makololo tribe, who came to these places in the 19th century. Neither the Makololo tribe nor Livingston were the discoverers of these places - stone artifacts indicate that the first people appeared here more than 3 million years ago.
Livingston became the first European to see this waterfall on November 16, 1855. In his diary, he wrote: "The places so beautiful must have been watched by angels in flight." The waterfall is surrounded by the largest water curtain in the world, the width of which is 1688 m, and the maximum depth is more than 100 m. Water breaks off a cliff into a narrow crevice, the width of which is at different times of the year from 60 to 120 m. The waterfall looks most spectacular in April and May, after which the volume of water gradually decreases until December, when it starts to rain again, filling the Zambezi channel.
The lush rainforest along the banks of the river is also included in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia and the Victoria Falls and River Park in Zimbabwe. Together, these parks cover an area of ​​56,000 hectares.
The territory of the parks also includes sections of the river with a length of 5 km below and 35 km upstream from the waterfall.
The surrounding rainforest contains a range of endemic plants, most notably ferns, which are extremely rare elsewhere in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Clouds of spray covering the entire area adjacent to the waterfall create high humidity here, which promotes vegetation. Among the trees found here are teak, phytelefas (frosted palm), golden ficus and ebony. Farther from the river and the waterfall, the typical Kalahari forest begins, covering most of the area. About 30 species of large mammals live here, including elephants, monkeys and baboons.
The river is home to crocodiles and hippos, and the coastal forests host over 400 species of birds, including the rare Livingston's bright green-breasted turaco, the trumpeter rhinoceros and several species of sunbirds.
During the rainy season, many flowers bloom in the coastal forests, such as red lilies, wild yellow gladiolus, palm blossoms and a variety of local flora.

In terms of geology, Victoria Falls is a very young formation. Scientists believe that about 1 million years ago, the course of the Zambezi River ran along a wide valley along a plateau to the middle threshold of the Zambezi, where today the mouth of the Matetsi River is located. At this point in the earth's crust, the river falls from a height of 250 m down the vertical slope of the exposed rock. The fast current erodes the edge of the waterfall, cutting an ever deeper channel in the basalt plateau.
The basalt was formed by large layers of lava that erupted before the appearance of the Zambezi River. A volcanic eruption occurred here from 100 to 50 million years ago. Lava flows flowed along cracks in the earth's crust, gradually cooling and solidifying. Inside, basalt consists of soft rocks that are easily eroded by water.
By the middle of the Pleistocene period - 35,000 - 40,000 years ago - erosion gradually formed the Batoka Gorge, cutting through it about 90 km from the current waterfall. Gradually falling water eroded the edge of the falls, and the valley began to turn north until it was almost at right angles to the east-west fault lines of the basalt.
Over time, the water carved the faults, turning them into stone walls. The river was squeezed inside narrow faults, the walls of which continued to collapse under the pressure of water. Since the faults run from east to west, the formation of a waterfall is possible only when.

For thousands of years, water continued to erode the stone until a weak point was discovered, at which, under the pressure of water, the stone layers collapsed, and a new fault formed, which became a wall for the water falling down.

The Scot who discovered Victoria Falls for Europeans was a missionary who spent most of his life traveling around Africa. Following from the west coast of Africa to the east, he reached the Zambezi River near Sesheki in 1851, but saw the waterfall only on November 16, 1855 and wrote in his diary: “... I saw three or five large columns of water vapor rising to a height of a hundred feet or more." Livingston was so afraid of exaggerating the size of the falls that he seriously downplayed its true length and height.
Livingston returned to Africa again in 1865, hoping to discover the source of the Nile, after which he disappeared. The New York Herald dispatched journalist and traveler Henry Stanley to search for him, who in 1871 managed to find the Scot.
Shortly thereafter, Livingston again went in search of the sources of the Nile, although he was weakened by malaria. He died in the village of Chitambo, in present-day Zambia, in 1873, never reaching his goal. His remains were taken to England and buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

GUIDE

1. The Victoria Falls Bridge was built in 1905. This 198 m long bridge passes over the river near the waterfall and offers magnificent views. The bridge is open to traffic for trains, cars and pedestrians. The bridge connects Zambia and Zimbabwe.
2. Ledge "Blade of the Knife" - the best view of the waterfall from Zambia opens from here. The trail leads down along a spray-shrouded bridge to an island surrounded on all sides by water.
3. "Devil's Threshold", the westernmost point of the falls, where stone erosion is currently ongoing. Nearby is a monument to David Livingston, the first European to see the waterfall.
4 Field Museum Built On The Site archaeological sites. Some of the objects found during the excavations are exhibited here, including evidence that the first people appeared in these places about 3 million years ago.
5. The trail along the Zambezi River passes through the rainforest, which makes it possible to observe wild animals: baboons, monkeys, crocodiles and elephants - as well as various types of birds and plants.
6. "Boiling Cauldron" - the point at which the streams of river water merge, starting their fall down into the Batoka Gorge.
7. river cruise provides an excellent opportunity to observe the life of wildlife and feel the calm reigning on the river above the waterfall.
8. Crossing "White Water" - this risky journey can only be made accompanied by an experienced guide who knows the river rapids. The Zambezi is one of the ten largest rafting rivers in the world.

Curious facts

■ Surrounded by coastal rainforest, Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe is considered one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The Zambezi River, which reaches a width of 2 km in this place, crashes its waters from basalt cliffs with a roar, lifting a water curtain into the air, which can be seen from a distance of more than 20 km.
■ The waters of the Zambezi River rush off a cliff in a spray cloud that can be seen for miles. During floods, about 500 million liters fall off the cliff every minute. water.
■ "Big Tree" variety of baobab - grows near the place where the discoverers of the falls camped before crossing the river. According to scientists, the age of this tree exceeds 1500 years.

■ The huge amount of spray and water vapor generated when the waters of the Zambezi River fall from the basalt cliffs lead to the formation of small cumulus clouds. Crocodiles sometimes appear from the river above the waterfall, wanting to bask in the sun in coastal mud.
■ More than 400 species of birds live around the waterfall, including weavers that build their amazing nests from grass blades or other plant material. The Victoria Falls Bridge was completed in 1905. It connected the copper and coal mines around Nwange with a railway line. With the advent of the railroad, people began to settle where the city of Livingston later arose.

general information

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Peculiarities:

The Zambezi River turns into a foamy and roaring cascade of water from one of the most magnificent waterfalls breaking down from sheer cliffs.

When the Zambezi River is full, 7,500 cubic meters m of water passes through the Victoria Falls in a second. The volume of water is so large and it rushes down with such force that a cloud of spray rising into the air can be seen even 40 km away. The local name for Victoria Falls is "Mosi-oa-tunya" which translates to "Smoke that thunders". A rainbow often plays in the spray of this majestic waterfall, rising to a height of up to 300 m.

The waterfall is only the beginning of a picturesque section of the riverbed, for the river, shrouded in a cloud of spray, immediately rushes with a roar into a narrow gorge, along which it winds in zigzags for almost 70 years. These intricate twists and dizzying turns are caused by cracks in the rock, widened over millennia by the sheer force of water. The Zambezi River meanders over a plateau formed from layers of sandstone and basalt; at the meeting points of these two different rocks, cracks form.

Story:

David Livingston - a weaver who became a doctor, a famous traveler, explorer - discovered the Victoria Falls to the world. During all the years of his stay in Africa, he allowed himself only once to change the local name and only once carved his initials and the date "1855" on the tree - the year of the great discovery. Livingstone's heart was committed to African soil in Ilala, his body rests in Westminster Abbey in London. Great Traveler left us a handwritten drawing of Victoria.

In November 1855, Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone was the first European to reach the Victoria Falls. He had first heard of the falls four years earlier when, together with William Cotton Oswell, he reached the banks of the Zambezi River 130 km to the west.

Then in 1853-1856 Livingston was the first European to cross Africa. As a missionary, he hoped to open the heart of Africa to Christian preachers. Livingston departed from South Africa north through Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and went to the Zambezi River. Then he headed west, towards the ocean towards Luanda (Angola). Deciding, however, that this path was too difficult, he turned east and, having traveled most of the way along the Zambezi, reached Quelimane on the Mozambique coast in May 1856.

Surprisingly, the explorer was not at all happy to have discovered such a magnificent waterfall as Victoria, although he later wrote that he gave "views so beautiful that they should have delighted angels in flight." For David Livingston, the waterfall, which is literally a wall of water about 1,675 meters long and 107 meters high, was, in fact, an obstacle in the way of Christian missionaries seeking to reach the natives in the depths of the mainland. For him, the main result of the journey was the discovery of the Batoka plateau east of the falls - a place that seemed to him suitable for establishing a settlement if the Zambezi was navigable along its entire length (this did not happen). Despite the annoyance caused by the discovery of the waterfall, which cut off the "path" he saw, Livingston nevertheless admitted that his greatness was worthy only of the name of the British Queen Victoria.

Things to do:

The waterfall and its surrounding area have been declared national parks to save the region from over-commercialization. Victoria Falls has been listed World Heritage UNESCO, along with four other natural and architectural monuments of Zimbabwe. national park Zambezi is located just a few kilometers upriver from the falls. Here visitors can enjoy the sight of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, zebras and many exotic birds, as well as see herds of the rarest saber-horned antelope.
The Victoria Rolls National Park covers the area just behind the falls and includes an endless number of races. crevices, which in the early centuries were part of the waterfall. Visitors can enjoy a sunny day on the Zambezi River, take a boat trip down the river, or take a bird's-eye view of the falls on one of the light pleasure planes, or view the falls in all their beauty while strolling through the lush rainforest, which is kept moist by ever-decreasing water. dust from the waterfall.
For the most adventurous, the Zambezi River offers such a form of entertainment as rafting, kayaking or canoeing down the turbulent river. Not for the faint of heart, another local form of entertainment is bungee jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge. Victoria Falls can be reached by almost any mode of transport: by road, by air, railway or by water. On the spot, tourists will be offered the best living conditions.

Being a simple missionary from a poor family, David Livingston managed to write his name in history as a tireless and courageous explorer of the African continent, who until last days doing what he loves in his life. In honor of Livingston in Africa, cities, waterfalls and even mountains are named.

The beginning of the way

The future conqueror of Africa was born on March 19, 1813 in a family, and from early childhood he was forced to work in a factory. In addition, he managed to study at school, and, having matured, began to comprehend the basics of medicine and theology at the university. Upon completion, he became a certified doctor and was ordained as an evangelical missionary.

In 1840, the young man went to Africa, to the Cape Colony. Having landed on the continent, he went to the country of the Bechuans - Kuruman. The London Missionary Society was located there, the road to which took Livingston almost half a year.

Rice. 1. David Livingston.

In search of a new place for his mission, David decided to go further north - where no British missionary had yet been. He stopped at Chonuan, where the Bakwena tribe lived, and quickly struck up friendly relations with the leader.

Within six months, Livingston deliberately stopped any communication with European society in order to thoroughly study the language of the natives, their laws, way of life, life values, way of thinking. It was then that the missionary had the idea - to explore all the rivers of South Africa in order to find new ways inland.

Rice. 2. Bakwena tribe.

First discoveries

There were many white spots on the maps of the Portuguese, who were the first to conquer the southwest of the African continent. Wanting to fix this, Livingston went on a trip to northern Africa, during which he made many important discoveries.

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

• In 1849, the missionary was the first European to explore the northeast of the Kalahari Desert, and also discovered the temporary Lake Ngami.
• In 1851-1856. went on a long journey along the Zambezi River, during which he managed to cross the mainland and reach east coast Africa.
• Victoria Falls was discovered in 1855.

Moving down the Zambezi River, Livingston witnessed a stunning picture - a huge waterfall, whose waters fell rapidly down from a height of 120 meters. The local tribes treated the "rumbling water" with reverence and fear, and never came close to the waterfall. Livingston gave his discovery a name in honor of the English Queen Victoria.

Rice. 3. Victoria Falls

Upon returning to his homeland, Livingston published a book about his trip to South Africa. For his significant contribution to the development of geography, he received a prestigious award - the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, and was also appointed consul in Quelimane.

Subsequent expeditions to Africa

In 1858, Livingston and his family returned to the Black Continent, where for the next six years he explored the Shire, Zambezi and Ruvuma rivers, as well as the Nyasa and Chilwa lakes. In 1865 he published a book in which he described all the details of this journey.

In 1866, the missionary participated in several more expeditions, during which he discovered the lakes of Bangvela and Mweru, but his main task was to search for the sources of the Nile.

An expedition was sent in search of Livingston, from whom no one had heard from for several years. He was found in a weakened state - a fever undermined the strength of a tireless explorer, who died in 1873. His body was taken to London and buried in Westminster Abbey.

general information

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Peculiarities:

The Zambezi River turns into a foamy and roaring cascade of water from one of the most magnificent waterfalls breaking down from sheer cliffs.

When the Zambezi River is full, 7,500 cubic meters m of water passes through the Victoria Falls in a second. The volume of water is so large and it rushes down with such force that a cloud of spray rising into the air can be seen even 40 km away. The local name for Victoria Falls is "Mosi-oa-tunya" which translates to "Smoke that thunders". A rainbow often plays in the spray of this majestic waterfall, rising to a height of up to 300 m.

The waterfall is only the beginning of a picturesque section of the riverbed, for the river, shrouded in a cloud of spray, immediately rushes with a roar into a narrow gorge, along which it winds in zigzags for almost 70 years. These intricate twists and dizzying turns are caused by cracks in the rock, widened over millennia by the sheer force of water. The Zambezi River meanders over a plateau formed from layers of sandstone and basalt; at the meeting points of these two different rocks, cracks form.

Story:

David Livingston - a weaver who became a doctor, a famous traveler, explorer - discovered the Victoria Falls to the world. During all the years of his stay in Africa, he allowed himself only once to change the local name and only once carved his initials and the date "1855" on the tree - the year of the great discovery. Livingstone's heart was committed to African soil in Ilala, his body rests in Westminster Abbey in London. The great traveler left us a handwritten drawing of Victoria.

In November 1855, Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone was the first European to reach the Victoria Falls. He had first heard of the falls four years earlier when, together with William Cotton Oswell, he reached the banks of the Zambezi River 130 km to the west.

Then in 1853-1856 Livingston was the first European to cross Africa. As a missionary, he hoped to open the heart of Africa to Christian preachers. Livingston traveled north from South Africa through Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and reached the Zambezi River. Then he headed west, towards the ocean towards Luanda (Angola). Deciding, however, that this path was too difficult, he turned east and, having traveled most of the way along the Zambezi, reached Quelimane on the Mozambique coast in May 1856.

Surprisingly, the explorer was not at all happy to have discovered such a magnificent waterfall as Victoria, although he later wrote that he gave "views so beautiful that they should have delighted angels in flight." For David Livingston, the waterfall, which is literally a wall of water about 1,675 meters long and 107 meters high, was, in fact, an obstacle in the way of Christian missionaries seeking to reach the natives in the depths of the mainland. For him, the main result of the journey was the discovery of the Batoka plateau east of the falls - a place that seemed to him suitable for establishing a settlement if the Zambezi was navigable along its entire length (this did not happen). Despite the annoyance caused by the discovery of the waterfall, which cut off the "path" he saw, Livingston nevertheless admitted that his greatness was worthy only of the name of the British Queen Victoria.

Things to do:

The falls and the area surrounding it have been declared national parks to keep the region from being over-commercialised. Victoria Falls has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List along with four more natural and architectural monuments of Zimbabwe. The Zambezi National Park is located just a few kilometers upriver from the falls. Here visitors can enjoy the sight of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, zebras and many exotic birds, as well as see herds of the rarest saber-horned antelope.
The Victoria Rolls National Park covers the area just behind the falls and includes an endless number of races. crevices, which in the early centuries were part of the waterfall. Visitors can enjoy a sunny day on the Zambezi River, take a boat trip down the river, or take a bird's-eye view of the falls on one of the light pleasure planes, or view the falls in all their beauty while strolling through the lush rainforest, which is kept moist by ever-decreasing water. dust from the waterfall.
For the most adventurous, the Zambezi River offers such a form of entertainment as rafting, kayaking or canoeing down the turbulent river. Not for the faint of heart, another local form of entertainment is bungee jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge. Victoria Falls can be reached by almost any means of transport: by road, air, rail or water. On the spot, tourists will be offered the best living conditions.