Facts About the Breathtaking Victoria Falls of Zimbabwe

Width: 1,708 m
Height: 108 m
Other Name: The Smoke that Thunders
Named after: The British Queen
National Parks: Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and Victoria Falls National Park

The legendary Victoria Falls is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite places in the world. Not only is it one of the seven natural wonders, it is also the largest waterfall on the planet. It is situated on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, in southern Africa.

The enormous waterfall, which was first discovered by a Scottish explorer, attracts almost a million visitors every year due to its various attractive features. Here are a few amazing facts about the falls.

» On a full moon night, one can see beautiful rainbows formed over the falls due to the reflection of the Moon (moon bows). The place is also perfect to see rainbows, which are visible from up to 30 miles of the fall.

» River Zambezi, that forms the Victoria Falls, is the fourth largest African river after River Nile, River Congo, and River Niger.

» The falls seem to dissect the Zambezi river into two, since it is exactly halfway from its source (at 1,677 miles).

» Although the falls are the widest, considering the sheet of water, they are neither the widest (Khone Falls), nor the highest (Angel Falls) in the world.

» The falls were first seen by a European explorer named David Livingstone.

» An estimated 600 million cubic liters of water hits the ground every minute on the Victoria Falls.

» The falls wouldn't exist without the Zambezi River. They are a part of its 2,574 km long stretch.

» The pool is accessible from the Livingstone Island, the very same place from where Livingstone first saw the falls. Swimming into the pool leaves you just inches away from the fall.

» It is also a great place for thrill seekers to bungee jump. They usually fall 364 feet until they hang upside down, just inches above the fall.

» Due to the water vapor rising because of the falls, the Victoria Falls Rain forest, which is situated on the Zimbabwean side of the falls, receives rains 24x7.

» There are, in all, eight rock faults that have formed due to the heavy blows by the currents of the Zambezi River.

» The falls are one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, which also includes Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, the Aurora Borealis, the Paricutin volcano, the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, and Mount Everest.

» There are, in all, six main streams at the falls. They are Zimbabwe, Devil's Cataract, Eastern Cataract, Zambia, Main Falls, and Rainbow Falls.

» The two national parks at the falls are Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and the Victoria Falls National Park.

» The national parks are home to a variety of elephants, zebra, antelopes, buffalo, and giraffe. Other animals like lions, leopards, baboons, crocodiles, hippos, eagles, and a variety of birds can also be seen.

» The Zambezi River, which is the largest river in Africa, flows 1,687 miles across nine countries―Zambia, DR Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania―before it finally reaches the Indian Ocean.

» The native African people who live in the vicinity of Victoria Falls, mainly speak the Bantu language. They often communicate in Portuguese and English as well.

» The stone artifacts found near the falls show that early humans must have lived there almost two million years ago.

The Victoria Falls was declared as a World Heritage Site in 1989 for being the most exquisite waterfall in the world. However, sadly, the ineffectiveness at the management of the falls is a growing concern.