Victoria falls
Posted On August 18, 2010
Have you seen thundering smoke ever? What’s that? The answer is the Victoria Waterfalls – some of the largest waterfalls ever seen. The Victoria Falls is a waterfall destination located in southern Africa. It lies on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are also known as the Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means the “Smoke that Thunders” because of their air or smoke like appearance when they fall from the top making a thunder like noise. The Victoria Falls are considered by some to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
History
The history of Victoria Falls zambia tells us that they were first discovered by a Scottish missionary named David Livingstone. He was able to view the falls from an island n Zambia, now named Livingstone Island, which is the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. The name, Victoria Waterfalls, was then given by him in honor of the European Queen.
Geography and Geology
Being neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls zambia is yet claimed to be the largest waterfall. The base of this claim in the size of the sheet of water falling, which is the largest, with 360 feet of height and 5,604 feet wide. The Zambezi river flows a considerable distance above the falls, over a sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley which is bounded by short and far away sandstone hills. Numerous tree-covered islands obstruct the flow of the river, and they increase in number as the river approaches the waterfalls. With no mountains or deep valleys in the area, there is only a flat plateau extending in all directions to a range of hundreds of kilometers. The falls are born out of the river as its full width plunges a long way, in a vertical direction, downwards. The beautiful formation of the falls, widthwise, is because of the basalt plateau’s fracture zone and, not to forget, the numerous islands dotting the way of the river which cause the water to bifurcate at many places several times. There are a few gorges in the way of the waterfall. The depth of the abyss of the fall, called the First Gorge, varies from 252 feet, its depth at the western end, to 360 feet, in the centre. The formation of the falls can be clear with the explanation about the gorges below the falls. The basalt plateau below the Zambezi has many cracks, large enough to fill weaker sandstone. These large cracks run east to west. As the water hits the plateau, the shape of the water curtain is carved into the current falls of Victoria Waterfalls. The water has been eroding the sandstone while flowing, since over lakhs of years.
For the matter of information and description about these waterfalls, the words can run till end of paper in the world. But, to sum up, the beauty of Victoria Falls safari has been enchanting the world through every season and for every reason.
The title is so apt, the water that descends produces mist and loud roar..listening the roar from the distance you can imagine the vastness of falls.
The waterfalls are so scenic , when sunrays falls on it, you would confuse it to shining silver falling down into the pool of water.
The write-up takes you right amidst of the towering streams of these waterfalls. After reading the account I can feel the mist of the falls on my face. Going to book a flight this summer, pronto!