The Zambezi River

Humans evolved on the African continent and there is evidence that they were living on the banks of the Zambezi from approximately 3 million years ago. Stone tools identified from the Early, Middle and Late Stone Age. In that regard there is the question of an uninterrupted history of settlement of Stone Age man, in this area.

About 2000 years ago Bantu speaking pastoralists arrived in this area bringing with them the ability to smelt and forge iron for agricultural implements and weapons. Their presence in the Zambezi Valley has been dated back to about 1,600 years ago. Finds include iron tools, storage structures and broken pottery that have been identified from various sites, mainly on the Zambian side of the River.

The Zambezi River, 2,693 km, is Africa’s fourth longest river after Nile, Congo and Niger. The Zambezi Basin, covers an area of 1,390,000 square kilometres. Zambezi rises in the Mwinilunga District of Northern Zambia. This area receives 1,4 metres of rain annually and this water gathers in the Barotse Flood Plain, south of the main catchment. As its name suggests, this area floods every year, absorbing the water before releasing it gradually back into the River.  This high rainfall combined with the regulating effect of the floodplain ensures that the Upper Zambezi has a sustained flow all year round. The rain falls in the catchment from November to March. Victoria Falls is over 1000 kilometres from the source, the crest of the flood reaches here in April/May. The rate of flow still fluctuates over a very wide margin, but unlike most rivers in Africa, the Zambezi continues to flow strongly all year round.