Victoria Falls is famous throughout the world and constantly attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world. It is the largest waterfall in Africa. The locals call it "Mosi-oa-Tunja", which means "Thundering smoke". Victoria is one of the most significant and unique spectacles of the African continent.
The waterfall territory belongs simultaneously to two countries - Zambia and Zimbabwe. To understand where the Victoria falls, you need to see where the border between the two states lies. It divides the countries directly along the channel of the Zambezi River, passing through the waterfall.
The history of the name of the Victoria Falls
Its name was given to this waterfall by the English pioneer and traveler David Livingston. He was also the first white man, whose eyes in 1885 presented an incredible view of the waterfall. Local residents conducted the researcher to the highest waterfall in Africa. David Livingston was so fascinated and amazed by the view that immediately dubbed the waterfall in honor of the Queen of England.
Geography of the Victoria Falls
In fact, Victoria Falls is not the highest waterfall in the world. Laurels of the highest water flow went to the Angel Falls in Venezuela (979 m). But the fact that the wall of water extends for a distance of almost two kilometers makes this waterfall the broadest continuous stream in the world. The height of the Victoria Falls is almost twice the height of Niagara Falls . This figure varies from 80 to 108 meters in different points of the flow. Spray from the rapidly falling masses of water scatter throughout the natural basin formed by the waterfall, and are able to climb to a height of 400 m. The fog they create and the roar of rapid flow are visible and audible even at a distance of 50 km.
Victoria Falls is on the Zambezi River approximately in the middle of its current. The water avalanche breaks off the cliff in the place where the wide river sharply falls into a comparatively narrow mountain slit, the width of which is 120 m.
Fun on the Victoria Falls
In autumn, when the rainy season recedes, the water level in the river is markedly reduced. During this time, you can take walks in a certain part of the waterfall. The rest of the time, the waterfall represents an endlessly powerful stream that rains 546 million liters of water every minute.
The dry season attracts a lot of tourists to the waterfall also because it is during this period of the year you can swim in a unique natural pool, which was called devilish. And this is not surprising, because "Font of the Devil" on the Victoria falls is on the very edge. Floating in it, you can observe how, at a distance of only a few meters from the mountain, bursting bubbling water currents. From the waterfall, this small ten-meter pool is separated only by a narrow jumper. However, when the water in the Zambezi again resides, the "Devil's Baptism" is closed, because its visit may pose a threat to the life of tourists.
Also among fans of extreme sports a popular form of entertainment is "bungee jumping". This is nothing more than jumping on a rope straight to the seething waters of the Victoria Falls in Africa. "Bungee jumping" is carried out from the bridge located in the immediate vicinity of the waterfall. For a person who wants to risk, they wear special elastic cables and suggest that he step into the abyss. After a free flight, almost at the surface of the water, the cables spring and soon stop. A fearless tourist gets a lot of new and incomparable sensations.
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