The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and

the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is 1,390,000
square kilometres (540,000 sq mi),[1][2] slightly less than half that of the Nile. The 2,574-
kilometre-long river (1,599 mi) 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 that country to empty
into the Indian Ocean.

The Zambezi's most noted feature is Victoria Falls. Other notable falls include the
Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma
in Western Zambia.

There are two main sources of hydroelectric power on the river, the Kariba Dam, which
provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique,
which provides power to Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a smaller power
station at Victoria Falls.

Contents

1 Course of the river
1.1 Sources
1.2 Upper Zambezi
1.3 Middle Zambezi
1.4 Lower Zambezi
1.5 Floods and floodplains
1.5.1 Ecology of the delta
2 Climate
3 Wildlife
4 Tributaries, their basin areas, discharge rates and region drained
5 Geological changes to the course
6 History
6.1 Etymology
6.2 Exploration of the river
7 Economy
8 Transport
9 Ecology
9.1 EUS outbreak
10 Major towns
11 See also
12 References
13 Further reading
14 External links

Course of the river
Sources
The Zambezi and its river basin

The river rises in a black marshy dambo in north-west Zambia, in dense undulating
miombo woodland, about 1,524 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. Eastward of the source, the
watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins is a well-marked belt of high ground,
running nearly east-west and falling abruptly to the north and south. This distinctly cuts
off the basin of the Lualaba (the main branch of the upper Congo) from that of the
Zambezi. In the neighborhood of the source the watershed is not as clearly defined, but the
two river systems do not connect.[3]

The region drained by the Zambezi is a vast broken-edged plateau 9001200 m high,
composed in the remote interior of metamorphic beds and fringed with the igneous rocks of
the Victoria Falls. At Shupanga, on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of grey and yellow
sandstones, with an occasional band of limestone, crop out on the bed of the river in the dry
season, and these persist beyond Tete, where they are associated with extensive seams of
coal. Coal is also found in the district just below Victoria Falls. Gold-bearing rocks occur in
several places.
Upper Zambezi

The river flows to the south-west into Angola for about 240 kilometres (150 mi), then is
joined by sizeable tributaries such as the Luena and the Chifumage flowing from highlands
to the north-west.[3] It turns south and develops a floodplain, with extreme width variation
between the dry and rainy seasons. It enters dense evergreen Cryptosepalum dry forest,
though on its western side, Western Zambezian grasslands also occur. Where it re-enters
Zambia it is nearly 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide in the rainy season and flows rapidly, with
rapids ending in the Chavuma Falls, where the river flows through a rocky fissure. The
river drops about 400 metres (1,300 ft) in elevation from its source at 1,500 metres (4,900
ft) to the Chavuma Falls at 1,100 metres (3,600 ft), in a distance of about 400 kilometres
(250 mi). From this point to the Victoria Falls, the level of the basin is very uniform,
dropping only by another 180 metres (590 ft) in a distance of around 800 kilometres (500
mi).

The first of its large tributaries to enter the Zambezi is the Kabompo River in the north-
western province of Zambia.[3] The savanna through which the river has flowed gives way
to a wide floodplain, studded with Borassus fan palms. A little farther south is the
confluence with the Lungwebungu River. This is the beginning of the Barotse Floodplain,
the most notable feature of the upper Zambezi, but this northern part does not flood so
much and includes islands of higher land in the middle.

Thirty kilometres below the confluence of the Lungwebungu the country becomes very flat,
and the typical Barotse Floodplain landscape unfolds, with the flood reaching a width of 25
km in the rainy season. For more than 200 km downstream the annual flood cycle
dominates the natural environment and human life, society and culture.

Eighty kilometres further down, the Luanginga, which with its tributaries drains a large
area to the west, joins the Zambezi. A few kilometres higher up on the east the main stream
is joined in the rainy season by overflow of the Luampa/Luena system.[3]

A short distance downstream of the confluence with the Luanginga is Lealui, one of the
capitals of the Lozi people who populate the Zambian region of Barotseland in Western
Province. The chief of the Lozi maintains one of his two compounds at Lealui; the other is
at Limulunga, which is on high ground and serves as the capital during the rainy season.
The annual move from Lealui to Limulunga is a major event, celebrated as one of Zambia's
best known festivals, the Kuomboka.

After Lealui, the river turns to south-south-east. From the east it continues to receive
numerous small streams, but on the west is without major tributaries for 240 km. Before
this, the Ngonye Falls and subsequent rapids interrupt navigation. South of Ngonye Falls,
the river briefly borders Namibia's Caprivi Strip.[3] The strip projects from the main body
of Namibia, and results from the colonial era: it was added to German South-West Africa
expressly to give Germany access to the Zambezi.

Below the junction of the Cuando River and the Zambezi the river bends almost due east.
Here, the river is broad and shallow, and flows slowly, but as it flows eastward towards the
border of the great central plateau of Africa it reaches a chasm into which the Victoria
Falls plunge.
Middle Zambezi
Victoria Falls, the end of the upper Zambezi and beginning of the middle Zambezi

The Victoria Falls are considered the boundary between the upper and middle Zambezi.
Below them the river continues to flow due east for about 200 kilometres (120 mi), cutting
through perpendicular walls of basalt 20 to 60 metres (66 to 200 ft) apart in hills 200 to 250
metres (660 to 820 ft) high. The river flows swiftly through the Batoka Gorge, the current
being continually interrupted by reefs. It has been described[citation needed] as one of the
world's most spectacular whitewater trips, a tremendous challenge for kayakers and
rafters alike. Beyond the gorge are a succession of rapids which end 240 km (150 mi) below
Victoria Falls. Over this distance, the river drops 250 metres (820 ft).

At this point, the river enters Lake Kariba, created in 1959 following the completion of the
Kariba Dam. The lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, and the
hydroelectric power-generating facilities at the dam provide electricity to much of Zambia
and Zimbabwe.

The Luangwa and the Kafue are the two largest left-hand tributaries of the Zambezi. The
Kafue joins the main river in a quiet deep stream about 180 metres (590 ft) wide. From this
point the northward bend of the Zambezi is checked and the stream continues due east. At
the confluence of the Luangwa (1537' S) it enters Mozambique.

The middle Zambezi ends where the river enters Lake Cahora Bassa (also spelled Cabora
Bassa). Formerly the site of dangerous rapids known as Kebrabassa, the lake was created
in 1974 by the construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam.
Lower Zambezi

The lower Zambezi's 650 km from Cahora Bassa to the Indian Ocean is navigable,
although the river is shallow in many places during the dry season. This shallowness arises
as the river enters a broad valley and spreads out over a large area. Only at one point, the
Lupata Gorge, 320 km from its mouth, is the river confined between high hills. Here it is
scarcely 200 m wide. Elsewhere it is from 5 to 8 km wide, flowing gently in many streams.
The river bed is sandy, and the banks are low and reed-fringed. At places, however, and
especially in the rainy season, the streams unite into one broad fast-flowing river.

About 160 km from the sea the Zambezi receives the drainage of Lake Malawi through the
Shire River. On approaching the Indian Ocean, the river splits up into a delta.[3] Each of
the four prime tributaries, Kongone, Luabo and Timbwe, is obstructed by a sand bar. A
more northerly branch, called the Chinde mouth, has a minimum depth at low water of 2
m at the entrance and 4 m further in, and is the branch used for navigation. 100 km further
north is a river called the Quelimane, after the town at its mouth. This stream, which is
silting up, receives the overflow of the Zambezi in the rainy season.
Floods and floodplains

The delta of the Zambezi is today about half as broad as it was before the construction of
the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams controlled the seasonal variations in the flow rate of
the river.

Before the dams were built seasonal flooding of the Zambezi had quite a different impact
on the ecosystems of the delta from today as it brought nutritious fresh water down to the
Indian Ocean coastal wetlands. The lower Zambezi experienced a small flood surge early in
the dry season as rain in the Gwembe catchment and north-eastern Zimbabwe rushed
through while rain in the Upper Zambezi, Kafue, and Lake Malawi basins, and Luangwa
to a lesser extent, is held back by swamps and floodplains. The discharge of these systems
contributed to a much larger flood in March or April, with a mean monthly maximum for
April of 6,700 cubic metres (240,000 cu ft) per second at the delta. The record flood was
more than three times as big, 22,500 cubic metres (790,000 cu ft) per second being recorded
in 1958. By contrast the discharge at the end of the dry season averaged just 500 cubic
metres (18,000 cu ft) per second.[1]

In the 1960s and 1970s the building of dams changed that pattern completely. Downstream
the mean monthly minimummaximum was 500 cubic metres (18,000 cu ft) to 6,000 cubic
metres (210,000 cu ft) per second; now it is 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cu ft) to 3,900 cubic
metres (140,000 cu ft) per second. Medium-level floods especially, of the kind to which the
ecology of the lower Zambezi was adapted, happen less often and have a shorter duration.
As with the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam's deleterious effects on the Kafue Flats, this has the following
effects:

fish, bird and other wildlife feeding and breeding patterns disrupted
less grassland after flooding for grazing wildlife and cattle
traditional farming and fishing patterns disrupted.

NASA false-colour image of the upper Zambezi and Barotse (Balozi) floodplain during
an extreme flood in 2003.

The Zambezi's delta.

The river and its floodplain near Mongu in Zambia.

Water is black in this false-colour image of the Zambezi flood plain.

This highly detailed true-colour image shows the stark eastern edge of the Zambezi
floodplain.

Ecology of the delta
Annotated view of the Zambezi river delta from space.[4]

As well as the Zambezi this section applies to the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save rivers which also
drain the Zambezi basin. Together the floodplains of these four rivers make up the World
Wildlife Fund's Zambezian coastal flooded savanna ecoregion. They are a mixture of open
grassland and freshwater swamp inland from the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.

Although the dams have stemmed some of the annual flooding of the lower Zambezi and
caused the area of floodplain to be greatly reduced they have not removed flooding
completely. They cannot control extreme floods, they have only made medium-level floods
less frequent. When heavy rain in the lower Zambezi combines with good runoff upstream,
massive floods still happen and the wetlands are still an important habitat. However, as
well as the shrinking of the wetlands further severe damage to wildlife was caused by
uncontrolled hunting of animals such as buffalo and waterbuck during the Mozambique
Civil War and now the conflict has ceased it is likely the floodplains will become more
populated, and further damming has also been discussed. The only protected area of
floodplain is the Marromeu Game Reserve near the city of Beira.

Although the region has seen a reduction in the populations of the large mammals it is still
home to some including the Reedbuck and migrating eland. Carnivores found here include
lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), spotted hyena
(Crocuta crocuta) and Side-striped jackal (Canis adustus). The floodplains are a haven for
migratory waterbirds including Pintails, Garganey, African Openbill (Anastomus
lamelligerus), Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), Wattled Crane, and
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus).

Reptiles include Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), Nile monitor lizard (Varanus
niloticus) and African rock python (Python sebae), the endemic Pungwe worm snake
(Leptotyphlops pungwensis) and three other snakes that are nearly endemic; Floodplain
Water Snake (Lycodonomorphus whytei obscuriventris), Dwarf wolf snake (Lycophidion
nanus) and Eyebrow viper (Proatheris).

There are a number of endemic butterflies.
Climate

The north of the Zambezi basin has mean annual rainfall of 1100 to 1400 mm which
declines towards the south, reaching about half that figure in the south-west. The rain falls
in a 4-to-6-month summer rainy season when the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone moves
over the basin from the north between October and March. Evaporation rates are high
(1600 mm-2300 mm) and much water is lost this way in swamps and floodplains, especially
in the south-west of the basin.[1]
Wildlife

The river supports large populations of many animals. Hippopotamuses are abundant
along most of the calm stretches of the river, and many crocodiles are also present. Monitor
lizards are found in many places. Birds are abundant, with species including heron,
pelican, egret and African fish eagle present in large numbers. Riverine woodland also
supports many large animals, such as buffalo, zebras, giraffes, elephants.

The Zambezi also supports several hundred species of fish, some of which are endemic to
the river. Important species include cichlids which are fished heavily for food, as well as
catfish, tigerfish, yellowfish and other large species. The bull shark is sometimes known as
the Zambezi Shark after the river but is found around the world.
Tributaries, their basin areas, discharge rates and region drained

Upper Zambezi: 507,200 km, discharges 1044 m/s at Victoria Falls, comprising:

Northern Highlands catchment, 222,570 km, 850 m/s at Lukulu:

Chifumage River: Angolan central plateau
Luena River: Angolan central plateau
Kabompo River: 72,200 km, NW highlands of Zambia
Lungwebungu River: 47,400 km, Angolan central plateau

Central Plains catchment, 284,630 km, 196 m/s (Victoria FallsLukulu):

Luanguingu River: 34,600 km, Angolan central plateau
Luampa River: 20,500 km, eastern side of Zambezi
Cuando /Linyanti/Chobe River: 133,200 km, Angolan S plateau & Caprivi

Middle Zambezi cumulatively 1,050,000 km, 2442 m/s, measured at Cahora Bassa Gorge

(Middle section by itself: 542,800 km, discharges 1398 m/s (C. BassaVictoria Falls)
Gwembe Catchment, 156,600 km, 232 m/s (Kariba GorgeVic Falls):

Gwayi River: 54,610 km, NW Zimbabwe
Sengwa River: 25,000 km, North-central Zimbabwe
Sanyati River: 43,500 km, North-central Zimbabwe

Kariba Gorge to C. Bassa catchment, 386200 km, 1166 m/s (C. BassaKariba Gorge):

Kafue River: 154,200 km, 285 m/s, West-central Zambia & Copperbelt
Luangwa River: 151,400 km, 547 m/s, Luangwa Rift Valley & plateau NW of it
Panhane River: 23,897 km, North-central Zimbabwe plateau

Lower Zambezi cumulatively, 1,378,000 km, 3424 m/s, measured at Marromeu

(Lower section by itself: 328,000 km, 982 m/s (MarromeuC. Bassa))

Luia River: 28,000 km, Moravia-Angonia plateau, N of Zambezi
Luenha River/Mazoe River: 54,144 km, 152 m/s, Manica plateau, NE Zimbabwe
Shire River , 154,000 km, 539 m/s, Lake Malawi basin

Zambezi Delta, 12,000 km

Total Zambezi river basin: 1,390,000 km, 3424 m/s discharged into delta

Source: Beilfuss & Dos Santos (2001)[1] The Okavango Basin is not included in the figures
because it only occasionally overflows to any extent into the Zambezi.

Due to the rainfall distribution, northern tributaries contribute much more water than
southern ones, for example: the Northern Highlands catchment of the upper Zambezi
contributes 25%, Kafue 8%, Luangwa and Shire Rivers 16% each, total 65% of Zambezi
discharge. The large Cuando basin in the south-west on the other hand contributes only
about 2 m/s because most is lost through evaporation in its swamp systems. The 1940s and
1950s were particularly wet decades in the basin. Since 1975, it has been drier, the average
discharge being only 70% of that for the years 1930 to 1958.[1]
Geological changes to the course

More than two million years ago, the Upper Zambezi river used to flow south through what
is now the Makgadikgadi Pan to the Limpopo River. The land around the pan experienced
tectonic uplift (perhaps as part of the African superswell) and a large lake formed, and
extended east.

Meanwhile, 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) east, a western tributary of the Shire River in the
East African Rift's southern extension through Malawi eroded a deep valley on its western
escarpment. At the rate of a few cm per year, this river, the Middle Zambezi, started
cutting back the bed of its river towards the west, aided by grabens (rift valleys) forming
along its course in an east-west axis. As it did so it captured a number of south-flowing
rivers such as the Luangwa and Kafue.

Eventually the large lake trapped at Makgadikgadi (or a tributary of it) was captured by
the Middle Zambezi cutting back towards it, and emptied eastwards. The Upper Zambezi
was captured as well. The Middle Zambezi was about 300 metres (980 ft) lower than the
Upper Zambezi, and a high waterfall formed at the edge of the basalt plateau across which
the upper river flows. This was the first Victoria Falls, somewhere down the Batoka Gorge
near where Lake Kariba is now.[5]
History
Etymology

The first European to come across the Zambezi river was Vasco da Gama, in January
1498, who anchored at what he called Rio dos Bons Sinais (River of Good Omens), now the
Quelimane, a small river on the northern end of the delta, which at that time was connected
by navigable channels to the Zambezi river proper (the connection silted up by the 1830s).
In a few of the oldest maps, the entire river is denoted as such. But already by the early
1500s, a new name emerged, the Cuama river (sometimes 'Quama' or 'Zuama'). Cuama
was the local name given by the dwellers of the Swahili Coast for an outpost located on one
the southerly islands of the delta, near the Luabo river. Most old nautical maps denote the
Luabo entry as Cuama, the entire delta as the 'rivers of Cuama' and the Zambezi river
proper as the 'Cuama river'.

Nonetheless, already in 1552, Portuguese chronicler Joo de Barros notes that the same
Cuama river was called Zembere by the upriver people of Monomatapa.[6] The Portuguese
Dominican friar Joo dos Santos, visiting Monomatapa in 1597, reported it as Zambeze
(Bantu language frequently shifts between z and r) and inquired into the origins of the
name; he was told it was named after an upriver people or settlement.
Map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, dated 1635, showing the course of the Zambezi, and its
source in a great lake.

"The River Cuama is by them called Zambeze; the head whereof is so farre within Land
that none of them know it, but by tradition of their Progenitors say it comes from a Lake in
the midst of the continent which yeelds also other great Rivers, divers ways visiting the Sea.
They call it Zambeze, of a Nation of Cafres dwelling neere that Lake which are so called."
J. Santos Ethiopia Oriental, 1609[7]

Thus 'Zambezi' is a derivation from a locality, probably named 'M'biza' (or something
very close to that) in the original Bantu.

The Monomatapa notion that the Zambezi was sourced from a great internal lake might be
a reference to one of the African Great Lakes. Indeed, one of the names reported by early
explorers for Lake Malawi was 'Lake Zambre' (probably a corruption of 'Zambezi'). The
Monomatapa story complied with the European notion, drawn from classical antiquity,
that all the great African rivers the Nile, the Senegal, the Congo, now the Zambezi, too
were all sourced from the same great internal lake. The Portuguese were also told that
the Mozambican Espirito Santo 'river' (actually an estuary formed by the Umbeluzi,
Matola and Tembe rivers) was sourced from a lake (hence its outlet became known as
Delagoa Bay). As a result, many old maps show the Zambezi and the 'Espirito Santo'
converging deep in the interior, at the same lake.
Exploration of the river
Satellite image showing Victoria Falls and subsequent series of zigzagging gorges

The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as the Empire of Monomotapa,
and the course of the river, as well as the position of lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given
broadly accurately in early maps. These were probably constructed from Arab
information.[8]

The first European to visit the upper Zambezi was David Livingstone in his exploration
from Bechuanaland between 1851 and 1853. Two or three years later he descended the
Zambezi to its mouth and in the course of this journey discovered the Victoria Falls.
During 185860, accompanied by John Kirk, Livingstone ascended the river by the
Kongone mouth as far as the Falls, and also traced the course of its tributary the Shire and
reached Lake Malawi.[8]

For the next 35 years very little exploration of the river took place. Portuguese explorer
Serpa Pinto examined some of the western tributaries of the river and made measurements
of the Victoria Falls in 1878.[8] In 1884 the Plymouth Brethren missionary Frederick
Stanley Arnot traveled over the height of land between the watersheds of the Zambezi and
the Congo, and identified the source of the Zambezi.[9] He considered that the nearby high
and cool Kalene Hill was a particularly suitable place for a mission.[10] Arnot was
accompanied by the Portuguese trader and army officer Antnio da Silva Porto.[11] In
1889 the Chinde channel north of the main mouths of the river was discovered. Two
expeditions led by Major A. St Hill Gibbons in 1895 to 1896 and 1898 to 1900 continued the
work of exploration begun by Livingstone in the upper basin and central course of the
river.[8]
Two local people in the Zambezi river near Victoria falls, Zambia.
Economy

The population of the Zambezi river valley is estimated to be about 32 million. About 80%
of the population of the valley is dependent on agriculture, and the upper river's flood
plains provide good agricultural land.

Communities by the river fish it extensively, and many people travel from far afield to fish.
Some Zambian towns on roads leading to the river levy unofficial 'fish taxes' on people
taking Zambezi fish to other parts of the country. As well as fishing for food, game fishing
is a significant activity on some parts of the river. Between Mongu and Livingstone, several
safari lodges cater for tourists who want to fish for exotic species, and many also catch fish
to sell to aquaria.

The river valley is rich in mineral deposits and fossil fuels, and coal mining is important in
places. The dams along its length also provide employment for many people near them, in
maintaining the hydroelectric power stations and the dams themselves. Several parts of the
river are also very popular tourist destinations. Victoria Falls receives over 1.5 million
visitors annually, while Mana Pools and Lake Kariba also draw substantial tourist
numbers.
Transport
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'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 50 kilometres (31 mi) upstream from
Livingstone, and the rapids just upstream from Katima Mulilo. However, depending on the
water level, boats could be paddled throughLozi paddlers, a dozen or more in a boat,
could deal with most of themor they could be pulled along the shore or carried around
the rapids, and teams of oxen pulled barges 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) over land around the
Ngonye Falls.[12]

Road, rail and other crossings of the river, once few and far between, are proliferating.
They are, in order from the source:

Cazombo road bridge, Angola, bombed in the civil war and not yet reconstructed[13]
Chinyingi suspension footbridge near the town of Zambezi, a 300-metre (980 ft)
footbridge built as a community project
Katima Mulilo road bridge, 900 metres (3,000 ft), between Namibia and Sesheke in
Zambia, opened 2004, completing the TransCaprivi Highway connecting Lusaka in
Zambia with Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coast
Kazungula Bridgein August 2007 a deal was announced to replace the Kazungula
Ferry, one of the largest river ferries in Southern Africa, with a road bridge where the
river is 430 metres (1,410 ft) wide
Victoria Falls Bridge (road and rail), the first to be built, completed in April 1905 and
initially intended as a link in Cecil Rhodes' scheme to build a railway from Cape Town to
Cairo: 250 metres (820 ft) long
Kariba Dam carries the paved Kariba/Siavonga highway across the river

Tourist boat on the Zambezi River, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Zambia. 1971 photo.

Otto Beit Bridge at Chirundu, road, 382 metres (1,253 ft), 1939
Second Chirundu Bridge, road, 400 metres (1,300 ft), 2002
Cahora Bassa Dam is in a remote area and does not carry a highway across the river
Tete Suspension Bridge, 1-kilometre (1,000 m) road bridge (1970s)
Dona Ana Bridge, originally railway but converted to single-lane road, (1935), the
longest at 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), since late 2009 it is again a railway bridge, passenger and
freight trains are again running across it and from 2011 on the railway line over this bridge
may convey several million of tonnes of Tete coal to the port of Beira.
Caia Bridgeconstruction started in 2007 of a 2.3-kilometre (1.4 mi) road bridge to
replace the Caia ferry, which, with Kazungula, is the largest ferry across the river

There are a number of small pontoon ferries across the river in Angola, western Zambia,
and Mozambique, notably between Mongu and Kalabo. Above Mongu in years following
poor rainy seasons the river can be forded at one or two places. In tourist areas, such as
Victoria Falls and Kariba, short-distance tourist boats take visitors along the river.
Ecology
Lake Cahora Bassa in Mozambique, one of the river's major sources of hydroelectric
energy

Sewage effluent is a major cause of water pollution around urban areas, as inadequate
water treatment facilities in all the major cities of the region force them to release
untreated sewage into the river. This has resulted in eutrophication of the river water and
has facilitated the spread of diseases of poor hygiene such as cholera, typhus and dysentery.

The construction of two major dams regulating the flow of the river has had a major effect
on wildlife and human populations in the lower Zambezi region. When the Cahora Bassa
Dam was completed in 1973, its managers allowed it to fill in a single flood season, going
against recommendations to fill over at least two years. The drastic reduction in the flow of
the river led to a 40% reduction in the coverage of mangroves, greatly increased erosion of
the coastal region and a 60% reduction in the catch of prawns off the mouth due to the
reduction in emplacement of silt and associate nutrients. Wetland ecosystems downstream
of the dam shrank considerably. Wildlife in the delta was further threatened by
uncontrolled hunting during the civil war in Mozambique.

The transfrontier Okavango-Zambezi Conservation Park will cover parts of Zambia,
Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, including the famous Okavango Delta in
Botswana and Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders, or Victoria Falls). It is thought
that the cross-border park will help with animal migration routes and assist in the
preservation of wetlands which clean water, as sewage from communities is a problem.

Funding was boosted for cross-border conservation along the Zambezi in 2008. The
OkavangoZambezi Transfrontier Conservation projectwhich follows the Zambezi
River and stretches across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwehas
received a grant of 8 million from a German nongovernmental organisation. Part of the
funds will be used for research in areas covered by the project. However, Angola has
warned that landmines from their civil war may impede the project.[14]
EUS outbreak

On 14 September 2007, epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) killed hundreds of sore-
covered fish in River Zambezi. Zambia Agriculture Minister Ben Kapita asked experts to
investigate the outbreak to probe the cause to find out if the disease can be transmitted to
humans.[15]