Editing Zambezi (section)

==Course==

===Origins===
[[File:Zambezi river basin-en.svg|thumb|450px|The Zambezi and its [[Zambezi Basin|river basin]]]]

The river rises in a black, marshy [[dambo]] in dense, undulating [[miombo]] woodland {{cvt|50|km|mi|sigfig=2}} north of [[Mwinilunga]] and {{cvt|20|km|mi|sigfig=2}} south of Ikelenge in the [[Ikelenge District]] of [[North-Western Province, Zambia|North-Western Province]], Zambia, at about {{convert|1524|m|ft|sigfig=3}} above [[sea level]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dilapidated Zambezi Source Site Worry Ikelenge DC |url=http://www.muvitv.com/dilapidated-zambezi-source-site-worry-ikelenge-dc/ |website=muvitv.com |publisher=Muvi TV |access-date=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904101922/http://www.muvitv.com/dilapidated-zambezi-source-site-worry-ikelenge-dc/ |archive-date=4 September 2015}}</ref> The area around the source is a national monument, forest reserve, and [[important bird area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ZM002 Source of the Zambezi |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=7178 |website=birdlife.org |publisher=Birdlife International |access-date=1 August 2015 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904101922/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=7178 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Eastward of the source, the watershed between the [[Congo Basin|Congo]] and [[Zambezi Basin]]s 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 River|Lualaba]] (the main branch of the upper Congo) from the Zambezi. In the neighborhood of the source, the watershed is not as clearly defined, but the two river systems do not connect.<ref name=Dorling>Dorling Kindersley, pp. 84–85</ref>

The region drained by the Zambezi is a vast, broken-edged plateau 900–1,200 m high, composed in the remote interior of [[metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] beds and fringed with the [[igneous rock]]s of the Victoria Falls. At [[Chupanga]], on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of grey and yellow [[sandstone]]s, with an occasional band of [[limestone]], crop out on the bed of the river in the dry season, and these persist beyond [[Tete, Mozambique|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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ashton |first1=Peter |last2=Love |first2=David |last3=Mahachi |first3=Harriet |last4=Dirks |first4=Paul |title=An Overview of the Impacts of Mining and Mineral Processing Operations on Water Resources and Water Quality in the Zambezi, Limpopo AND Olifant Catchments in Southern Africa |url=https://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00599.pdf |website=International Institute for Environment and Development |publisher=Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project, Southern Africa |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114231525/https://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00599.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Upper Zambezi===
The river flows to the southwest into Angola for about {{cvt|240|km|mi}}, then is joined by sizeable [[tributary|tributaries]] such as the [[Luena River, Angola|Luena]] and the Chifumage flowing from highlands to the north-west.<ref name=Dorling/> It turns south and develops a [[floodplain]], with extreme width variation between the dry and rainy seasons. It enters dense evergreen [[Zambezian dry evergreen forest|''Cryptosepalum ''dry forest]], though on its western side, [[Western Zambezian grasslands]] also occur. Where it re-enters Zambia, it is nearly {{cvt|400|m|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 {{cvt|400|m|ft}} in elevation from its source at {{cvt|1500|m|ft}} to the Chavuma Falls at {{cvt|1100|m|ft}}, over a distance of about {{cvt|400|km|mi}}. From this point to the Victoria Falls, the level of the basin is very uniform, dropping only by another {{cvt|180|m|ft}} across a distance of around {{cvt|800|km|mi}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Geology |date=2014-11-25 |title=Zambezi River |url=https://www.geologypage.com/2014/11/zambezi-river.html |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=Geology Page |language=en-US |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520095950/https://www.geologypage.com/2014/11/zambezi-river.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=June 2022}}

The first of its large tributaries to enter the Zambezi is the [[Kabompo River]] in the [[North-Western Province, Zambia|North-Western Province]] of Zambia. The [[savanna]] through which the river flows gives way to a wide floodplain, studded with ''[[Borassus]]'' [[fan palm]]s. 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zambezi River Facts and Information |url=https://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/zambezi-river.html |access-date=2021-05-22 |website=www.victoriafalls-guide.net |archive-date=7 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507055636/https://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/zambezi-river.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

About 30&nbsp;km 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&nbsp;km in the rainy season. For more than 200&nbsp;km downstream, the annual flood cycle dominates the natural environment and human life, society, and culture. About 80&nbsp;km further down, the [[Luanginga River|Luanginga]], which with its tributaries drains a large area to the west, joins the Zambezi. A short distance higher up on the east, the main stream is joined in the rainy season by overflow of the [[Luampa River|Luampa]]/[[Luena River (Zambia)|Luena]] system.<ref name="Dorling" />

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 the 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 south-southeast. From the east, it continues to receive numerous small streams, but on the west, it is without major tributaries for 240&nbsp;km. Before this, the [[Ngonye Falls]] and subsequent rapids interrupt navigation. South of Ngonye Falls, the river briefly borders Namibia's [[Caprivi Strip]].<ref name=Dorling/> 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===
[[File:Victoria Falls aerial view September 2003.jpg|thumb|[[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 {{cvt|200|km}}, cutting through perpendicular walls of [[basalt]] {{cvt|20|to|60|m|ft}} apart in hills {{cvt|200|to|250|m|ft}} high. The river flows swiftly through the Batoka Gorge, the current being continually interrupted by reefs. It has been described<ref>{{Cite web |last=Edington |first=Sean |date=2020-12-29 |title=Is rafting on the Zambezi River below The Victoria Falls Dangerous? |url=https://safpar.com/is-rafting-on-the-zambezi-river-below-the-victoria-falls-dangerous/ |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=SAFPAR |language=en-US |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520102959/https://safpar.com/is-rafting-on-the-zambezi-river-below-the-victoria-falls-dangerous/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} as one of the world's most spectacular [[Whitewater kayaking|whitewater]] trips, a tremendous challenge for kayakers and rafters alike. Beyond the gorge are a succession of rapids that end {{cvt|240|km|mi}} below Victoria Falls. Over this distance, the river drops {{cvt|250|m|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 River|Luangwa]] and [[Kafue River|Kafue]] rivers are the two largest left-hand tributaries of the Zambezi. The Kafue joins the main river in a quiet, deep stream about {{cvt|180|m|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Figure 1: Map showing location of Luangwa Valley and Greater Kafue Ecosystem in Zambia. |journal=PeerJ |date=20 April 2021 |volume=9 |pages=e11313 |doi=10.7717/peerj.11313/fig-1 |last1=Valkenburgh |first1=Blaire Van |last2=White |first2=Paula A. |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The middle Zambezi ends where the river enters Lake [[Cahora Bassa]], formerly the site of dangerous rapids known as Kebrabassa; the lake was created in 1974 by the construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GAZ Term "Zambezi River" (GAZ:00044898) |url=https://archive.gramene.org/db/ontology/search?id=44313 |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=archive.gramene.org |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520101311/https://archive.gramene.org/db/ontology/search?id=44313 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

===Lower Zambezi===
The lower Zambezi's {{convert|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]], {{convert|320|km}} from its mouth, is the river confined between high hills. Here, it is scarcely {{convert|200|m}} wide. Elsewhere it is from {{convert|5|to|8|km|0}} 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.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

About {{convert|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 [[River delta|delta]].<ref name=Dorling/> Each of the primary distributaries, Kongone, Luabo, and Timbwe, is obstructed by a [[Shoal|sand bar]]. A more northerly branch, called the [[Chinde River|Chinde]] mouth, has a minimum depth at low water of {{convert|2|m|0}} at the entrance and {{convert|4|m|0}} further in, and is the branch used for navigation. About {{convert|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zambezi - Encyclopedia |url=https://theodora.com/encyclopedia/z/zambezi.html |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=theodora.com |language=en |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520105706/https://theodora.com/encyclopedia/z/zambezi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Mighty Zambezi afternoon view.jpg|alt=#Wiki Loves Africa in Namibia 2023#|thumb|Mighty Zambezi]]