The Victoria Falls is located on the Zambezi River, and flows on the Zambezi river between the Zambia and Zimbabwe border. Although it is not the highest or widest waterfall, it forms the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It has a maximum mean monthly flow of up to 105, 944 cubic feet per second. Thats a lot of water! The recent geological history of Victoria Falls can be seen to form gorges below the falls. The basalt plateau over which the Zambezi River flows has many large cracks filled with weak sandstone. Over at least 100,000 years, the falls have been receding upstream, eroding the sandstone-filled cracks to form the gorges. The river has fallen in different eras into different chasms which now form a series of sharply zig-zagging gorges downstream from the river. The falls has already started cutting back the next major gorge, at the dip in one side of the 'Leaping Waters' section of the falls. This is where the next full width falls will eventually form.
The Victoria Falls is also home to a wide range of wildlife and vegitation. There are two National Parks in the region. On the Zambian side there is the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park, and on the Zimbabwian side there is the Victoria Falls National Park. Both parks have similar species of wildlife and are located on the banks of the river. Some of the wildlife include elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, antelope, lion and leopards. The river also has large populations of hippos and crocodiles, and a viriety of fish.
The Falls and National game parks make the Victoria Falls a huge tourist attraction. Almost 300,000 people visit the falls anually, with this number only expected to grow in the following years.
Viewing the Falls is a must. To get the best view of the Falls, one must walk over the "Knife Edge" Bridge, which is easily accesible from the Zambian side. From here, one can feel the force and power of the Falls first hand. In addition, along with the National Parks, there are a large variety of miscallaneous activities tourists can enjoy during thier visit. Examples include:
If you would like to know more about the Victoria Falls, here are some useful links: