Administrators, upwizcampeditors
0
edits
Zambezi River: Difference between revisions
From Chalo Chatu, Zambia online encyclopedia
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{featured article}} | {{featured article}} | ||
{{Good | {{Good article}} | ||
The '''Zambezi''' (also spelled '''Zambeze''' and '''Zambesi''') is the [[List of rivers by length|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 {{convert|1390000|km2}}, slightly less than half that of the [[Nile]]. The {{convert|2574|km|mi|adj=mid|-long river}} 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''' (also spelled '''Zambeze''' and '''Zambesi''') is the [[List of rivers by length|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 {{convert|1390000|km2}}, slightly less than half that of the [[Nile]]. The {{convert|2574|km|mi|adj=mid|-long river}} 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. | ||
| Line 176: | Line 176: | ||
==Transport== | ==Transport== | ||
[[File:Victoria Falls Bridge over Zambesi.jpg|thumb|1975 photo of [[Victoria Falls Bridge]] ]] | [[File:Victoria Falls Bridge over Zambesi.jpg|thumb|1975 photo of [[Victoria Falls Bridge]] ]] | ||
The river is frequently interrupted by rapids and so has never been an important long-distance transport route. [[David Livingstone#Zambezi expedition|David Livingstone's Zambezi Expedition]] attempted to open up the river to navigation by [[paddle steamer]], but was defeated by the [[Cahora Bassa rapids]]. Along some stretches, it is often more convenient to travel by [[canoe]] along the river rather than on the unimproved roads which are often in very poor condition due to being regularly submerged in flood waters, and many small villages along the banks of the river are only accessible by boat. In the 1930s and 40s a paddle barge service operated on the stretch between the Katombora Rapids, about {{convert|50|km|mi}} upstream from Livingstone, and the rapids just upstream from Katima Mulilo. However, depending on the water level, boats could be paddled through—[[Lozi people|Lozi]] paddlers, a dozen or more in a boat, could deal with most of them—or they could be pulled along the shore or carried around the rapids, and teams of oxen pulled barges {{convert|5|km|mi}} over land around the Ngonye Falls.<ref>[http://www.nrzam.org.uk/NRJ/V1N2/V1N2.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 26 February)] E. C. Mills: "Overlanding Cattle from Barotse to Angola", ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol 1 No 2, pp 53–63 (1950).</ref> | The river is frequently interrupted by rapids and so has never been an important long-distance transport route. [[David Livingstone#Zambezi expedition|David Livingstone's Zambezi Expedition]] attempted to open up the river to navigation by [[paddle steamer]], but was defeated by the [[Cahora Bassa rapids]]. Along some stretches, it is often more convenient to travel by [[canoe]] along the river rather than on the unimproved roads which are often in very poor condition due to being regularly submerged in flood waters, and many small villages along the banks of the river are only accessible by boat. In the 1930s and 40s a paddle barge service operated on the stretch between the Katombora Rapids, about {{convert|50|km|mi}} upstream from Livingstone, and the rapids just upstream from Katima Mulilo. However, depending on the water level, boats could be paddled through—[[Lozi people|Lozi]] paddlers, a dozen or more in a boat,- could deal with most of them—or they could be pulled along the shore or carried around the rapids, and teams of oxen pulled barges {{convert|5|km|mi}} over land around the Ngonye Falls.<ref>[http://www.nrzam.org.uk/NRJ/V1N2/V1N2.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 26 February)] E. C. Mills: "Overlanding Cattle from Barotse to Angola", ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol 1 No 2, pp 53–63 (1950).</ref> | ||
Road, rail and other crossings of the river, once few and far between, are proliferating. They are, in order from the source: | Road, rail and other crossings of the river, once few and far between, are proliferating. They are, in order from the source: | ||
