The most beautiful waterfalls in the world - description, history and interesting facts. Interesting facts about waterfalls All information about Victoria Falls

The waterfall can rightfully be considered the most a wonderful creation nature. Being next to it and watching how the stream, free falling in the air, breaks on the ground, creating splashes and making deafening sounds, you can feel your heart skip a beat from the beauty you see. The waterfall has a geological nature of formation. It consists of a stream of water flowing over steep rapids and rocky formations.

The origin of the waterfalls does not keep any special secrets. The occurrence occurs due to the flow of rivers through steep cliffs. You can see a huge number of these natural creations all over the world. Their food is provided by melting snow. Waterfalls are located mainly in the upper reaches of the river on the hills. However, the world knows about the existence of a unique waterfall that formed at the very mouth. It is located in Jamaica, on the Dunn's River.

The formation of a waterfall occurs in conditions where there are soft rocks covered with hard rock layers. The current of the reservoir travels through rocks that are completely different in structure. Passing through hard layers, it reaches softer rocks, which are destroyed by a fast flow of water. Then it plunges into the depths of the cliffs and reaches the hard rock layers at the base. It takes thousands of years for the complete destruction of the rocks, after which an equally spectacular object appears - a cliff. After a certain amount of time, having reached the maximum depth, a waterfall is formed. At its base, a body of water is formed for immersion.

Earthquakes can also contribute to the appearance of waterfalls. Due to the movement of layers of earth, deep gaps are formed in the valleys where rivers flow. Some of them were formed thanks to glaciers. The most striking examples of this appearance are waterfalls:

• Utigard;
• Melanoma;
• Yosemite.

Unfortunately, waterfalls do not last forever. Over the course of thousands of years, both the soil underneath and the rocks are eroded. There is a gradual transformation into rapids.

Types of waterfalls:

• Cascade. The water falls along stepped rocks.
• Block. Water comes out of a wide stream.
• In-line.
• Fan. Horizontal spread of water occurs.
• Immersion. Characterized by vertical flow descent.
• Segmented. During descent, the water is divided into several separate streams.
• Cup-shaped. It falls in a continuous stream and further spreads into a very wide container.
• Longline. A series of distinct drops of water.
• Multi-step. There are several waterfalls approximately equal in size, located one after the other. After descending, you end up in your own pool.

Among large quantity The most spectacular waterfalls can be identified:

• Bloody;
• Victoria;
• Montmorency;
• Svartifoss.

Niagara Falls has an enviable consistency in attracting the attention of millions of tourists. This marvelous creation of nature is located on the border between Canada and the USA. However, it can only be seen from the Canadian side. For convenience, a “Rainbow Bridge” was installed downstream. With its help, you can move freely between countries both on foot and by passenger transport. Near the waterfall there is an incredible roar of water that spreads around for tens of kilometers.

Niagara takes its name from its three waterfalls. They are located on the river of the same name, which separates the two countries. A fabulous atmosphere reigns in the evenings near Niagara. As darkness falls, many spotlights of various colors are turned on and directed towards the wide wall of the waterfall. Once seen, a sight of amazing beauty can never be forgotten.

Thousands of years ago, as the glacier melted, powerful streams of water cut the gorge down to solid rock layers. An incredibly beautiful cliff created by nature now receives tens of thousands of tons of falling water. Due to the abundance of rocks in the reservoir, Niagara Falls is endowed with an amazing greenish tint.

The height of the waterfall is fifty-three meters, the total width of all components of the waterfall is slightly more than one thousand two hundred meters. Scientists have noticed that the waterfall moves upstream by approximately one meter every year.

Victoria Falls is a truly legendary landmark in Africa that is worth seeing at least once in your life. The huge Zambezi River, falling down, forms a two-kilometer water curtain. Five million liters of water fall down every second. A cloud that rises above the surface and looks like smoke can be seen within a radius of 25 - 30 kilometers.

The discoverer of the waterfall was David Livingston. Being in a state of shock from the beauty he saw, he expressed a desire to name the waterfall in honor of the Queen of England. Tourists dubbed this creation of nature as the most beautiful miracle they have ever seen. The waterfall is the largest in terms of the amount of water falling down.

In Canada, you can see the indescribable beauty of the Montmorency Falls, which has a calming and mesmerizing effect. It is formed by a river of the same name. Its height is eighty-four meters and its width is forty-six meters. At the base there is a small lake seventeen meters deep.
The navigator Samuel de Champlain named the waterfall in honor of the then famous military leader, the Duke of Montmorency.

In Antarctica there is the most mysterious Bloody Falls, which begins its journey from the Taylor Glacier. Water containing huge reserves of iron finds its way out of a gap formed in the waterfall. And the main source of water is a lake covered with a huge layer of ice (about 400 meters). Due to the increased salinity, the water does not turn into ice. The waterfall was discovered by the famous geologist Taylor. Scientists explain the reason for such a marvelous shade by the presence of iron oxide, which appears as a result of a unique metabolic process. It was also revealed that the reservoir is inhabited by microorganisms, which in such harsh conditions have a chance to obtain the necessary energy. This is achieved by restoring the dissolution of sulfates in the liquid to sulfites, with their further oxidation by iron ions coming from the soil.

Waterfalls are the most beautiful and captivating creation. Contemplation pure water, flowing in a huge stream over steep rocks and crashing against the stones with a roar, excites the mind and makes one think about the beauty and grandeur of nature.

Victoria Falls is the only waterfall constantly listed among the Seven natural wonders peace. Located on the border between beautiful, but very poor Zimbabwe and popular safari tour Zambia, the largest waterfall in the world is rightly called one of the most beautiful and amazing. The sight of millions of liters of water per minute (during peak season) falling into a narrow gorge is one of the most unforgettable moments in life. The huge stream of falling water forms a high cloud of water mist, which on a clear day can be seen from a distance of 20 km. Thanks to this phenomenon, the tribes local residents They gave it the name "Mosi oa Tunya" (thundering smoke).

David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer, became the first European to see and describe the falls. On November 17, 1855, the Scottish explorer sailed down the Zambezi River, in the very center of his beloved Africa. On a small shuttle he swam to the very big island at the edge of the waterfall, and from there witnessed with his own eyes what he later called “the most beautiful sight I saw in Africa.” This island was later named Livingston Island. David, in typical colonial fashion, named Victoria Falls after the British Queen.

Livingstone returned to Britain in 1856, and a year later published the best-selling book Missionary Travel and Exploration in South Africa, which made his travels around the Dark Continent world famous. The published book (70,000 copies - a huge circulation at that time) took an extraordinary place in history geographical discoveries and opened Central Africa to the first European travelers.

Victoria Falls began to gain popularity during the British colonial rule of Northern Rhodesia (modern Zambia), and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The impetus for the development of tourism in this region was the construction railway. Wanting to unite all the English colonies in Africa, businessman Cecil Rhodes took the initiative to build a railway that would connect the north and south of the continent, from Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt). This project was never fully implemented, but at first the railway was built at incredible speed (about one and a half kilometers per day). In 1905 it was built railroad bridge across the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, during the same period two cities were founded in the area.

Victoria Falls

Before the current crisis in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls was considered the most popular tourist destination in Africa. Back in 1999, hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls. Tourism grew at a rate of 15% per year, and then a land reform program began, which was based on the confiscation of land owned by white farmers. Now ex tourist mecca Zimbabwe serves as a sad example of the destructive economic policies of the country's president Robert Mugabe. According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, tourism revenues fell from $777 million in 1999 to $26 million in 2008. Tourism in Zimbabwe has literally and figuratively gone downhill.

In August 1999, Mugabe officially opened the Kingdom Hotel on the outskirts of Victoria Falls. Costing $26.3 million, it was the largest investment since independence in 1980. Cleverly built on the example of historical buildings of the central African empires, most of The hotel's decorations consisted of natural wood, straw and stone. Luxurious air-conditioned rooms, expensive shops, four restaurants, three bars and a casino - a real paradise for tourists.

But international isolation and economic decline as a result of the disastrous policy of seizing the farmland of white farmers turned this a beautiful hotel and the city itself into an almost lost paradise. Who would have thought that a city with such a name (translated as Victoria Falls) would have problems attracting tourists! For most visitors, Victoria Falls looked much more attractive than its only competitor, the city of Livingston. But Zimbabwe's economic disasters have dramatically changed the status quo, and today most foreign tourists prefer the Zambian side, despite the fact that the scenery of the waterfall on the opposite side is less spectacular.

Livingston

Livingstone was founded in 1905 at a distance of 10 km from the swampy banks of the Zambezi River. The city is named after David Livingstone, the first European to see, name and describe the waterfall. The city was one of the first white settlements in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). In 1911 it became the capital of Northern Rhodesia (modern Zambia). In 1935, the capital of the state was moved to Lusaka, but Livingstone retained its status" tourist capital", as well as a significant part of its colonial heritage. Livingstone today owes its prosperity primarily to Victoria Falls. Thanks to instability in neighboring Zimbabwe, Livingstone receives the main flow of tourists who come here to visit the waterfall. Safari tours to wildlife, giving you the opportunity to see with your own eyes herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, and hippopotamus.

Description of Victoria Falls

The Zambezi River is the fourth largest in Africa after the Nile, Congo and Niger. For 1,200 kilometers, the mighty river quietly rolls its waters across the plains central Africa, when suddenly it drops off the edge of a basalt plateau into a deep and narrow gorge on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Water falls into the gorge from a height of 108 meters, the volume of water ranges from 20,000 to 700,000 cubic meters per minute (depending on the season of the year). Further, a rapid stream of water noisily makes its way through the steep rock gorges.

During the rainy season, the waterfall is difficult to see due to fog. During this period, water fog sometimes rises to a height of up to three hundred meters and can be seen from a distance of 20 km. Thick water mist saturates the air so much that in some places it turns into raindrops. Even on the hottest day you can get wet to the bone.

Waterfalls are extremely interesting phenomena. Considered by geologists to be nature's most destructive forces, water erodes and breaks down (albeit slowly) solid rock, forming canyons and gorges. Downstream from Victoria Falls, the river has eroded soft spots of basalt rocks and carved zigzag gorges for many kilometers. This is the result of the constant retreat of the waterfall line, a process that took hundreds of thousands of years.

Attractive in their dangerous beauty, waterfalls have always attracted attention and excited human imagination.

It is especially fascinating to realize that people have absolutely no control over the largest and most powerful of them, such as Niagara, Victoria or Iguazu. They show us the beauty and power of living nature.

Geographical object. The meaning of waterfalls

Powerful waterfalls are practically an inexhaustible source energy, which is widely used in the construction of hydroelectric power stations. Staying near waterfalls brings not only aesthetic pleasure, but also has a healing effect: water falling from a height forms water dust, in which negatively charged ions are formed under the influence of sunlight. Such dust, saturated with plant phytoncides, which are always in abundance near waterfalls, has a very great positive effect on the body.

However, there are also contacts with waterfalls that are unpleasant for humans. Waterfalls and rapids that cannot be controlled are a serious obstacle to navigation. Therefore, on many rivers where there are waterfalls, shipping canals are laid, allowing liners and ships to make a safe journey.

Characteristics and types of waterfalls

A waterfall is a stream of water falling from a steep cliff. Often large waterfalls consist of a chain of small rapids and cascades. One of the features of large waterfalls is their “movement”: the constant fall of water leads to the destruction of the ledge and the movement of the waterfall up the river.

It is noteworthy that almost all the powerful waterfalls in the world are located on the border of two or three states. And this is understandable, because a large waterfall is a natural insurmountable barrier that protects the territory of the state much more reliably than the most modern devices and weapons.

Types of waterfalls:

• cataract- a large waterfall in which the bulk of the water falls in a wide sheet from a relatively small height;
• water slide- a smooth, sloping waterfall without steep drops of water;
• cascade- a series of waterfalls located one after another.

Origin of waterfalls

The origin of waterfalls varies. For example, they may appear due to the fact that the river crosses a natural ledge that was formed before the appearance of water. In another case, the appearance of a waterfall may be a consequence of the activity of the river itself, eroding soft layers of rock.

In the mountains, a large number of waterfalls owe their appearance to tectonic activity. Also in the mountainous regions there are many waterfalls that arose in the hanging valleys due to an excess of water in the rivers that came down from the glaciers.

The largest waterfalls in the world

Since waterfalls vary in width, height and amount of water carried, there is no one that holds the title of largest. Let's list some of the most powerful and wide waterfalls that adorn our planet.

(Kon Waterfall)

So, the most wide waterfall peace - Con- located on the border of Cambodia and Laos on the Mekong River. The Kona drainage is more than 12.5 km wide. Actually, this is a cascading system of waterfalls located in an amazing beautiful place. By the way, Kon is also considered one of the calmest among famous waterfalls. Opened in 1920.

(Iguazu Falls)

The title of the most powerful waterfall in the world belongs to Iguazu, aka "Devil's Throat", on the border of Argentina and Brazil. Every minute, over the ledge of the waterfall, such an amount of water pours down that it is difficult to even imagine - 700 thousand m 3! Iguazu, with 275 cascades, is not only dangerous and powerful, it is also breathtakingly beautiful. The waterfall was discovered in 1541.

(Niagara Falls)

And, of course, we cannot fail to mention the most famous waterfalls in the world - NiagaraVictoria. Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River on the border of the United States and Canada, is relatively low - its height is only 52 m. However, due to the huge amount of water discharged and its great length, Niagara Falls is considered the most powerful in North America.

(Victoria Falls)

Waterfall Victoria, named after the Queen of Great Britain, was known to the local tribes under the name "Thundering Smoke", which, of course, more closely matches the impression it gives. The width of the waterfall is 1800 m and the height is 128 m.

Tallest waterfall

(Angel Falls)

The tallest waterfall in the world is Angel, located on the Churun ​​River in beautiful Venezuela. Overall height Angel is 1054 m, the height of the free fall of the water is 979 m. In the language of the local residents, its name is translated as “Waterfall of the deepest place.”

Angel was discovered in 1935 by Juan Angel, a Venezuelan pilot who first flew over the waterfall, from whom it got its name.

Huge, roaring streams of water falling from a great height can fascinate anyone: the most beautiful waterfalls planets amaze, delight, impress and attract with their unique charm. They also represent difficult natural boundaries, so the largest waterfalls in width are usually located on the border of two and sometimes three states.

A waterfall is a falling stream of river water from a high steep cliff or slope that crosses the river bed, forming a sharp drop in height, and the height of the fall must exceed one meter (anything less is ledges and thresholds). Waterfalls form in mountainous areas where the river carries its waters over different rock formations. Some rocks are hard enough to resist erosion, while others are too soft and, under the influence of fast mountain rivers, erode quite quickly.

As a result, a height difference gradually begins to form: the waters of the river begin to fall from hard to softer soil, resulting in the formation of a steep and sheer cliff. This happens until the water reaches a solid layer of rock, which stops the fall of the water, after which the river continues its movement in the channel, and at the foot, as a result of the impacts of strong water jets, huge “erosion” boilers (reservoirs) are formed.

Waterfalls may have tectonic origin, located on the boundary of a fault that separates two blocks of the earth’s crust, one of which is lowered to a certain height in relation to each other. For example, the most big waterfall in the world, Angel, whose height is 1054 meters, was formed in the highlands, at the point of transition of one plateau to another (near the Churun ​​River, which brought its waters to the cliff, there was no choice but to start falling down and, ending up on the lower plateau , continue on your way).

These unique formations can unexpectedly appear in one place or another of the river - as a result of an earthquake, ground shift, volcanic activity, etc. Human activity can also cause waterfalls to form, such as when overflowing bodies of water overflow a dam.

Varieties

Since a cliff, like a river, can have different shapes and be of different sizes, there is a classification consisting of a large number of types of falling streams. They are divided by height, width and depth of water.

For example, Angel in Venezuela (1034 m) is the highest waterfall in the world, Khon in Laos is considered the widest (its length together with the islands is 10,783 m), and the deepest is Inga in the Congo (42,476 m3/s). But Victoria on the Zambezi River, 1.8 km wide and 120 m high, is considered the only waterfall in the world whose height exceeds 100 meters and width is more than a kilometer.

Speaking about the types of waterfalls, the following types can be distinguished:

• Water slopes - the rock has a slight slope, and therefore the water flows do not have a steep angle of incidence;
• Cataracts are wide, but low;
• Cascades - consist of a series of water streams falling one after another from stone ledges (the widest cascade on our planet is Khon in Laos: its length along the river and width, together with the islands, is about 10 km).

Movement

Interestingly, the waterfalls do not have a clearly fixed location and move up the river. This happens due to the enormous pressure of water flows, which every year erode the rocks more and more, and the rocks located at the edge break off and fall down, as a result of which the water begins to fall from new border cliff located a couple of centimeters upstream.

For example, the famous Niagara moves 70-90 cm per year, and this moment moved away from the place of its formation by more than ten kilometers. Therefore, there is a possibility that in 20 thousand years this large waterfall will reach Lake Erie and cease to exist.

Soothing sounds

Scientists have long noticed that the sound of a waterfall has a calming effect on the human psyche. For example, Khon in Laos is the calmest, so its sound is considered the most favorable for sick people. If the patient’s financial capabilities allow it, doctors recommend visiting Khon; if not, they let you listen to the soothing sound of a waterfall on a disc.

During treatment, the sound of not only this, but also other most famous waterfalls on the planet is used, and the noise of the waterfall can be completely different - from gentle murmur to thunderous peals.

For example, the noise of Niagara during the day can be heard at a distance of two kilometers, and at night, when audibility improves, up to seven kilometers. It is interesting that thunder-like peals are used to their advantage not only by people, but also by representatives of the animal world: the noise of the waterfall is also a reference point for birds during migrations.

Valleys of tumbling rivers

The number of waterfalls in a given area directly depends on how many rivers flow in a given area and the complexity of the terrain. If only one river flows, there is only one falling stream. But if there are a sufficient number of rivers and mountain streams in the area, then the abundance of rivers flowing from the slopes is often amazing.

For example, the second name of Norway is the Land of Waterfalls: due to the huge number of rivers and high rocky mountains, they can be seen almost everywhere, while fourteen of them are the highest in Europe, and three are among the eight highest waterfalls in the world.

In addition, there are many countries that, although they cannot be characterized in the same way as Norway, on their territories you can see the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, located one after another - the valley of waterfalls. One of the most famous places of this kind is Yosemite. national park: The valley of waterfalls located on its territory is the only place in the world where in a small area there are many large and world-famous waterfalls.

But in Europe the most famous valley Lauterbrunnen waterfalls is located in Swiss Alps: There are 72 cascading streams, some of which are over a hundred meters high, and the most popular waterfall in this area is Staubbach, with a height of over 300 meters.

Another valley of waterfalls is located in the Caucasus near Sochi. These are “Thirty-three waterfalls on the Dzhegosh stream”, located one after another for half a kilometer. The highest waterfall reaches only ten meters.

At the bottom of the ocean

Relatively recently, scientists discovered that waterfalls at the bottom of the world's oceans (some of them exist in reality, and some are an optical illusion) over the past decades, about seven underwater waterfalls have been found. Unfortunately, moving streams in the middle of a body of water are extremely difficult to capture on camera and fully study them, and therefore it is quite difficult to see and detect these natural phenomena.

It is known that they arose in places with a complex topography of the ocean floor, where there is a difference between the level of salinity of the water and its temperature: warm salty water, possessing higher density, rushes down in a huge stream to displace less dense and fresher water.

Underwater waterfalls are quite large and are not inferior in size to their terrestrial counterparts, and some are even much larger. For example, between Tasmania and Australia there is a large underwater waterfall, which is 400 m long and 150 km wide. The largest underwater waterfall is located in the Gulf of Denmark between Iceland and Greenland: its height is 4 km and its length reaches 200 km (it can well be called the deepest waterfall on our planet).

Even though it's not easy to see underwater waterfalls, being able to imagine exactly what it looks like amazing phenomenon, nature provided us by creating the illusion of an underwater waterfall near the island of Mauritius, located in the western Indian Ocean, not far from Madagascar. It was formed thanks to a unique combination of coral reefs, amazing water clarity, sand and silt deposits.

Unfortunately, this amazing natural phenomenon can only be observed from a bird's eye view, and such a walk is not cheap: sightseeing tour a 15-minute helicopter ride will cost $450 for two.

Victoria, a waterfall on the Zambezi River in South Africa. Located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The width of the waterfall is approximately 1800 meters, height - 128 meters. The waterfall is an extraordinary sight - a narrow abyss into which water falls.

Scottish explorer David Livingstone visited the falls in 1855 and named it after Queen Victoria. Previously, the waterfall was known among the local population as "Thundering Smoke".

Victoria Falls is one of the main attractions South Africa, refers to World Heritage UNESCO. It is located on the border of two national parks - "Mosi-oa-Tunya" in Zambia and "Victoria Falls" in Zimbabwe.

Victoria is the only waterfall in the world over 100 meters high and over a kilometer long.

History of the waterfall

The oldest known inhabitants of the area around the falls were village hunter-gatherers, in their languages ​​the falls were called Shongwe, Amanza Thunqayo, Mosi-oa-Tunua ("thundering smoke"). The first European to see the waterfall was David Livingston. On November 17, 1855, during the 1852-1856 journey from the headwaters of the Zambezi to the mouth of the river, Livingstone reached the falls and swam to small island, which was later named after him. Livingstone was impressed by the Ngonye Falls, then sailed upstream, saw a more impressive waterfall, and named it after Queen Victoria. He wrote about the falls: No one can compare the beauty with anything seen in England. This was something that European eyes had never seen before. Angels in flight must have looked at places so beautiful.

In 1860, Livingston returned to the falls and conducted a detailed study with John Kirk. Other European explorers visited the falls - the Portuguese Serpa Pinto, the Czech Emil Holub, and the British artist Thomas Baynes, who painted some of the earliest paintings of the falls. Until the railroad was brought into the area in 1905, it was rarely visited by Europeans.

Geography of the waterfall

Odofall is located approximately in the middle of the Zambezi River, at approximately 21 degrees. S and 28 gr. e.d. Above the falls, the Zambezi flows over a flat basalt slab in a valley bordered by low and sparse sandstone hills. Along the river there are islands, the number of which increases as you approach the waterfall.

The waterfall was formed where the Zambezi falls sharply into a narrow (about 120 meters wide) chasm carved by its water in a fault in the earth's crust. Numerous islands divide the waterfall on the ridge, forming channels. Over time, the waterfall retreated upstream, gnawing itself into more and more new crevices. These crevices now form a zigzag river bed with sheer walls. They are clearly visible on satellite images.

The waterfall is extremely wide, approximately 1800 meters wide, the height of the waterfall varies from 80 meters at the right bank of the waterfall to 108 meters in the center. Victoria Falls is approximately twice as tall as Niagara Falls, and more than twice as wide as its main part (the Horseshoe). Falling water creates spray and mist that can rise to heights of 400 meters or more, and can be seen up to 50 kilometers away.

During the rainy season, more than 500 million liters of water per minute flow through the falls, and due to the enormous force of the falling water, the spray rises hundreds of meters into the air. In 1958, during the Zambezi flood, a record level was recorded - more than 770 million liters per minute.

The waterfall is divided into four parts by islands on the edge of the abyss. Next to the right bank of the river there is an inclined stream 35 meters wide, called “jumping water”, then behind the island of Boaruca (300 meters wide) there is a main waterfall about 460 meters wide. Livingston Island separates the main waterfall from the second channel (approximately 530 meters wide); the eastern waterfall is located on the very left bank of the river.

The only way out of the crevice where the water is now falling is a rather narrow channel made by water in its wall approximately 2/3 of the distance from the western end. This channel is approximately 30 meters wide, and the entire volume of the river passes through it for about 120 meters, after which the river falls into a zigzag gorge. The river does not leave this gorge for about 80 km, until it leaves the basalt plateau.

At the end of the first zigzag, the river enters a deep body of water called the Boiling Pot, approximately 150 meters across. In low water, the surface of the cauldron is calm, but during high water it is covered with leisurely giant whirlpools (funnels) and swelling of the water surface. The walls of the gorge are more than 120 meters high.

During the rainy season, up to 9,100 cubic meters of water per second passes through the waterfall. At this time, the water flows through the main waterfall in a continuous stream. During the dry season, the waterfall is reduced to a few narrow streams, there is almost no spray and fog, the flow is reduced to 350 cubic meters per second. At this time, you can explore the depths of the gorge, usually flooded with water. Between the maximum flow in April and the minimum at the end of October, the water level in the gorges changes by almost 20 meters.

Railway bridge at Victoria Falls

Below the Boiling Pot, almost at right angles to the waterfall, a bridge spans the gorge, one of five located on the Zambezi River. The arch-shaped bridge is 250 meters long, the top of the bridge is 125 meters above the lower level of the river. Regular train services connect the town of Victoria Falls and Livingstone to Bulawayo, with another line connecting Livingstone and Lusaka.

The falls were virtually unvisited by people until the railway to Bulawayo was built in 1905. After the introduction of the railway, they quickly gained popularity and maintained it until the end of British colonial rule. A tourist town has grown up on the Zimbabwe side. In the late 1960s, tourist numbers declined due to guerrilla warfare in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and the detention of foreign tourists under Venneta Konda's rule in independent Zambia.

Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 brought relative peace, and the 1980s saw a new wave of tourism in the region. By the late 1990s, almost 300 thousand people visited the falls annually. In the 2000s, the number of tourists visiting Zimbabwe began to decline due to unrest associated with Robert Mugabe's rule.

Zimbabwe and Zambia allow visas for day trips when crossing borders without prior application, however these visas are considered expensive.

Immediately after the waterfall, a section of the river begins with numerous rapids, which attracts fans of kayaking and rafting. The rapids are safe enough for beginner tourists; there are no dangerous rocks at high water flows, and after all the rapids there are sections of smooth water.

National parks

The waterfall is located in two national parks - Thundering Smoke (Mosi-oa-Tunya) in Zambia and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Both national parks are small, covering an area of ​​66 and 23 square kilometers respectively.

The national parks contain rich wildlife, including significant populations of elephants and giraffes. The river in this place contains a large population of hippopotamuses.

IN national park Thundering Smoke is also home to two white rhinoceroses, which were brought there from South Africa.

There is also a small cemetery on the site of an old English settlement.