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Victoria Falls

General Overview

Described by the Kololi Tribe in the 1800’s as “Mosi-oa-tunya”, ‘The smoke that thunders’, Victoria Falls is a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty. The 1.2 mile wide Zambezi River drops over 330 feet into a steeply walled gorge. Columns of spray can be seen from miles away. This is the widest waterfall in the world.

Surrounding Area

Mosi O Tunya National Park is situated upstream from the Falls and although it is only 25 ½ square miles, it provides a home for numerous antelope species, zebra, giraffe and the recently acquired white rhinos, one of whom gave birth in the park in 1994. These are the only rhinos to be seen in Zambia as its previously large population has been completely eliminated through poaching.

Fast Facts

• 546 million cubic meters (150,000 gallons) of water per minute drops over the Victoria Falls
• The explorer David Livingstone christened the waterfall Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria.
• The Victoria Falls Bridge was commissioned by Cecil Rhodes in 1900.
• Livingstone caught his first glimpse of Victoria Falls from Livingstone island in 1855.
• Livingstone’s heart is buried in Zambia, at the foot of the tree where he died, but his body is buried at Westminster Abbey in London.