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Victoria Falls

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  Location: On the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa (Continent of Africa)
• Created by: Around 100 million years ago, many small volcanic eruptions in this area caused cracks in the rocks and lava to cool and settle at the bottom. The Earth’s movement of the 2 African tectonic plates also helped form the crack in the rock (no waterfall yet). About 10 million years ago, there was a massive flood in this area, which rerouted rivers and created the waterfall
• Date created: 10 million-100 million years ago
• Size: It is the largest waterfall in the world, 360 ft (108 m) tall & 5,605 ft (1,708 m) wide
• Water volume: 132 million g (500 million l) of water goes over the fall every minute, which is about 200 Olympic swimming pools
• North-Western Zimbabwe has a rainforest growing because of the water spray from the waterfall.
• Initially called “Mosi-oa-tuna,” which means “The Smoke That Thunders,” in 1855, it was named after Queen Victoria by explorer and missionary David Livingstone. He was the first European to have documented the falls.
• The falls are a part of the Zambezi River, the 4th largest river in Africa, 1,677 mi (2,700 km).
• When there is a full moon and the sunset, something rare happens a “Moonbow,” a rainbow at night.
• There is a part of the falls called “The Devil’s Pool,” where you can swim to the waterfall’s edge and look over. You must be with a proper guide for this and be super careful!
• There are many different animals in the surrounding national parks: warthogs, elephants, lions, leopards, baboons, hyenas, zebras, and so many more.