mother nature: Zambezi River, Africa

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Zambezi River, Africa

The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is 1,390,000 square kilometres (540,000 sq mi),^[1]^[2] slightly less than half that of the Nile. The 2,574-kilometre-long river (1,599 mi) rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.

The Zambezi's most noted feature is Victoria Falls. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia.

The river rises in a black marshy dambo in dense undulating miombo woodland 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Mwinilunga and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Ikelenge in the Ikelenge District of North-Western Province, Zambia at about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sea level. The area around the source is a national monument, forest reserve and Important Bird Area.

The river supports large populations of many animals. Hippopotami are abundant along most of the calm stretches of the river, and many crocodiles are also present. Monitor lizards are found in many places. Birds are abundant, with species including heron, pelican, egret and African fish eagle present in large numbers. Riverine woodland also supports many large animals, such as buffalo, zebras, giraffes, elephants.