Hi Everybody! What a Great Adventure I found for us tonight! We are going to Africa to the Zambezi River! This is a huge River. Some of our class friends live in Africa (Hi Max, Hi Christel). Tonight we are going to look at their backyard!!
I was fascinated to see all the elephants, hippos, crocs, and big buffalo! Victoria Falls is twice as big as Niagara Falls. The strange thing to me is that for 1/2 a year the river dries up, even the Falls. Then the rainy season begins and the River fills up again, bursting with new life for All. From flooded to drought every year! There are so many animals to see. The Feature Presentation has some of the best photography I have seen. I hope You can make time to see this one! So, Come on in. Take your shoes off, get in a comfy chair and cruise on to Africa! I have provided several ways for You to get in the River Zambezi-A Big Jump!!!!HaHa.
Have Fun!
        |
| THE ZAMBEZI RIVER The Bundu people of Zambia believe the Zambezi River has a spirit called Nyami Nyami. This spirit brings them water to grow crops and fish to eat so they call the river "the river of life". The Zambezi originates in Northwestern Zambia, formerly Rhodesia, and flows through Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and finally to Mozambique. Here it empties into the Indian Ocean 1600 miles from its headwaters. The climate along the river is considered tropical and the rainy season lasts from October through April. The river changes at different spots along it, going from a placid flow in sandy plains to annually flooded plains to a tumbling river of falls and rapids. Perhaps the most spectacular spot along the river is in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls. These falls are two times the size of Niagara Falls at 355 feet high and 5500 feet wide! The Zambezi River is widely used by wildlife and humans alike. Hippos, crocodiles, baboons, elephants, hyenas and lions are some examples of wildlife you might find along the Zambezi. Humans use the river for transportation, irrigation, tourism and hydropower. The people who live along the river differ from country to country. English is the official language of the area though the different tribes along the banks of the Zambezi speak more than 70 other languages. Currently the countries along the river are at odds as to how to manage the river. In the future these countries must agree to manage "the river of life" so that its people can survive and its spirit can thrive. |  Steve Chapple, an environmental writer completing a book on the Zambezi, is our Zambezi online guest. Visit Steve's profile page |
 This graphic is courtesy of the Chiawa Camp - Lower Zambezi National Parkweb site. |
 |  |  |
 |  |
Zambezi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 3,540-kilometre-long river (2,200 mi) has its source in Zambia and flows throughAngola, along the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia again, and Zimbabwe, toMozambique, where it empties into the Indian Ocean.
The Zambezi's most well-known feature is the Victoria Falls. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, nearSioma in Western Zambia.
There are two main sources of hydroelectric power on the river. These are the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique which provides power to both Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.
| Zambezi | |
| Zambesi, Zambeze | |
| River | |
The Zambezi River at the junction of Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana
| |
| Nickname: besi | |
| Countries | Zambia, DR Congo, Angola, Namibia,Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,Malawi, Tanzania |
|---|---|
| Source | |
| - location | Mwinilunga, Zambia |
| - elevation | 1,500 m (4,921 ft) |
| Mouth | Indian Ocean |
| Length | 2,574 km (1,599 mi) |
| Basin | 1,390,000 km2 (536,682 sq mi) [1][2] |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 3,400 m3/s (120,070 cu ft/s) [1][2] |
The Zambezi and its river basin
| |
This could be me! Anybody else want to Jump???
Just Push Play>
White Water Rafting, Anybody??
Just Push Play>
Or Jump over Victoria Falls!!!!!
Just Push Play>
Course of the river
[edit]Source
The river rises in a black marshy dambo in north-western Zambia, in undulating miombo woodland, quite dense in parts, 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, falling abruptly north and south, and running nearly east-west. 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 900–1200 m high, composed in the remote interior of metamorphicbeds and fringed with the igneous rocks of the Victoria Falls. At Shupanga, on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of grey and yellowsandstones, 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 the Victoria Falls. Gold-bearing rocks occur in several places.
[edit]The upper Zambezi
The river flows to the south-west and into Angola for about 240 kilometres (150 mi), then is joined by sizeable tributaries such as theLuena and the Chifumage flowing from highlands to the north-west.[3] It turns south and develops a floodplain and becomes very variable in width between the dry and rainy seasons. It enters a region with dense patches of 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 quite quickly 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 savannathrough which the river has flowed gives way to a wide floodplain, studded with Borassus fan palms. A little farther south is theconfluence 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 (20 mi) 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 kilometres (16 mi) in the rainy season. For more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) downstream the annual flood cycle dominates the natural environment and human life, society and culture.
Eighty kilometres (50 mi) 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 atLimulunga, 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 (150 mi). 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 very broad and shallow, and flows fairly 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.
[edit]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 theKariba Dam. The lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, and thehydroelectric power-generating facilities at the dam provide electricity to much of Zambia andZimbabwe.
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 (15°37' 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.
[edit]The lower Zambezi
The lower Zambezi's 650 km (400 mi) 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 (200 mi) 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 (3 to 5 mi) 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 (100 mi) from the sea the Zambezi receives the drainage of Lake Malawi through the Shire River. On approaching theIndian Ocean, the river splits up into a delta.[3] Each of the four prinmbe (distributaries?), 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 (60 mi) 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.
[edit]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 minimum–maximum 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.
Feature Presentation: A Fantastic Film!!!!!
(One Hour) Worth It! Just Push Play>
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/zambezi-river-africa-photos/#/zambezi-river-fireofdawn_3273_600x450.jpg
Photo Gallery: Zambezi River, Africa
Travel on the Zambezi
Photograph by Chris Johns
The fire of dawn lights a path across Africa's Zambezi River, where villagers in Zambia travel as they always have—in a dugout canoe. With continuing political stability in southern Africa, the Zambezi opens the way to some of the continent's most unspoiled reaches.
—From "Down the Zambezi," October 1997, National Geographic magazine
Victoria Falls
Photograph by Chris Johns
Built of moonglow and water spray, a bridge of colored light arches over the chasm at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Besides moonbows, special effects at the 355-feet-high (108-meter-high) falls include a roar so loud it once broke windows 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) away and spray so thick that at times the falls vanish from sight.
—From "Down the Zambezi," October 1997, National Geographic magazine
Whitewater Rafting
Photograph by Chris Johns
"Tourists overboard!" One of the ferocious Class V rapids below Victoria Falls flips a raft; passengers are assured beforehand that hippos and crocodiles usually steer clear of fast water.
—From "Down the Zambezi," October 1997, National Geographic magazine
(More Info at this site):
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/zambezi-river-africa-photos/#/zambezi-rhino_3272_600x450.jpg
....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.
See You next time. Love to All-
Of course, one more great performance! The real deal-Sunset Cruise on Zambezie! Just Push Play>
O+O
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi Everybody! Please say hello and follow so I know you are here! Due to the inconsideration of people trying to put commercials on my blog comment area, I have restricted use of anonymous posts. Sorry that some hurt all.
My public email is katescabin@gmail.com No spammers or trolls