Facts About Victoria Falls

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Dubbed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls is considered the biggest waterfall in the entire world. Victoria Falls is so big that it is situated at the border of 2 countries namely Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa. Based on the width and height of the water that flows from Victoria Falls, it is arguably the largest in the world. The following are some facts about Victoria Falls:

Fact 1: Victoria Falls was named after the Queen of England. A Scotsman and missionary named Dr. David Livingstone is credited for giving the falls it current name after England’s then-reigning queen, Queen Victoria back in 1855.

Fact 2: Victoria Falls is also a name of a city in Zimbabwe. In honor of Dr. Livingstone, a respected missionary to the area, Zambia named “Victoria Falls” as a sister city to Livingstone which is its counterpart in Zambia.

Fact 3: Rainfall in the River Zambezi area does not stop any hour or any day of the week because of Victoria Falls. The flow of water from this huge waterfall provides a spray of rain to the river area non-stop.

Fact 4: About 300,000 gallons of water pour down from Victoria Falls every single second especially during the rainy months of November up to April. During this so-called rainy season in Victoria Falls, the spray of water can even reach 1000 ft in the air producing an endless rainfall to the river below.

Fact 5: The devil’s pool at the top of Victoria Falls is a popular tourist attraction. Many people flock to this are for picnics and swimming. The devil’s pool area is especially popular during the dry months in Victoria Falls which occurs around August to October.

Fact 6: The huge width and height of Victoria Falls helps create the so-called “moonbow” or night-time rainbow. The colored light similar to a rainbow is created by the reflection of the moon on the wide sheets of water from Victoria Falls.

Fact 7: The water from Victoria Falls supplies the rivers of 6 different countries. Aside from Zambia and Zimbabwe, the water from the world’s largest waterfalls also reaches the rivers in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Namibia.

Fact 8: The journey of the water from Victoria Falls through the Zambezi River reaches to almost 3000 kilometers in total. The river itself is one of Africa’s largest and it takes almost 3000 kilometers for the water to finally reach the ocean from the source.

Fact 9: The flow of water from Victoria Falls is so strong that it literally cuts through the faults and fissures of rock underneath the Zambezi River. At present, the strong current from Victoria Falls had already carved out at least 8 precipices or steep cliffs along the river path.

Fact 10: All the street names in Zambia were renamed to African names from the original British names except for the city of Livingstone. This happened when Zambia gained independence in 1964. The city of Victoria Falls also retained its name in Zimbabwe.

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