Kariba Gorge: Difference between revisions

'''Kariba Gorge''' is a large, natural gorge through which flowed the [[Zambezi River]] on the border of [[Zambia]] and Zimbabwe, Africa. In 1959 the large double arch concrete [[Kariba Dam]] was completed, completely filling the gorge and creating the largest man-made lake in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9044719/Kariba|title=Kariba|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=2007-07-31}}</ref> [[Lake Kariba]] was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the [[Zambezi River]] and displacing large numbers of wildlife and the local [[Tonga people]].

The choice of the Kariba Gorge over the competing Kafue Gorge site in Zambia was a result of political and technical decisions. The Kariba Gorge was assessed as more stable hydrologically and the misgivings of depending politically on a minority white government were overcome. Further, environmental assessment was a rudimentary science at the time, and the relocation of the people on the Zimbabwe side of the gorge was not adequately planned and thousands were flooded out.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8360|title=Lake profile - Kariba|publisher=|accessdate=2007-07-31}}</ref> A distinct cultural gap arose between the isolated Zimbabwe Tonga and the [[Zambia]] Tonga because of their separation by the massive lake filling the gorge. Today the Zimbabwe Tonga are considered a separate people with a somewhat different language and a lower economic status compared to the Tonga on the Zambia side.