Zambezi

Zambezi or Zambesi, river, southern Africa, fourth longest of the continent, 2,650 km (1,650 mi) long and draining an area of some 1,300,000 sq km (some 502,000 sq mi). It rises in northwestern Zambia and flows in a double S curve southeast to the Indian Ocean. From its headwaters, about 1524 m (about 5000 ft) above sea level, it flows through eastern Angola, traverses western Zambia, and forms the border of northeastern Botswana; it forms the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and flowing through Lake Kariba, created by the hydroelectric Kariba Dam, it crosses central Mozambique (where it forms a lake behind the Cabora Bassa Dam) and empties into the Mozambique Channel through many mouths.

In its upper course, totaling about 800 km (about 500 mi), the Zambezi falls only about 180 m (about 600 ft). About 100 km (about 60 mi) below its confluence with the Kwando River, it forms the great cataract known as Victoria Falls (Mosi-Oa-Tunya), and for the next 72 km (45 mi) it rushes through a narrow gorge 122 m (400 ft) deep. It then enters its middle course and flows through hilly country for about 1300 km (about 800 mi) to Quebrabasa Rapids, the last great natural barrier to navigation, in Mozambique. In its lower course, it flows through a broad valley to the sea. Besides the Kwando River, the chief tributaries of the upper river are the Kabompo and the Lungwebungu. The Zambezi receives no important tributaries in its middle course; the chief affluent of the lower river is the Shire.

Despite such barriers as cataracts, rapids, and sandbars, the Zambezi is navigable for long distances. The navigable reaches of the river and its tributaries total 740 km (460 mi). The Scottish missionary David Livingstone was the first European to explore the Zambezi.