Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, shared by two parks, the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park and the Victoria Falls National Park. The area is home to many unique species of flora and fauna. It is situated on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is one of the largest waterfalls in the world, measuring 1,708 meters in width. Although not the world's highest and widest waterfall, Victoria Falls is considered the largest waterfall in the world, with a combined width of 1,708 meters and a height of 108 meters. Both national parks at the falls are relatively small, Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park is 66 km2 and Victoria Falls National Park is 23 km2. Next to the latter on the south bank, however, is the Zambezi National Park, which stretches 40 kilometers west along the river, and animals can migrate between the two parks in Zimbabwe. Above the waterfall, a riverine forest lined with palm trees fringes the shores and islands. The most striking feature of the area's vegetation is the rainforest, which nourishes itself from the spray of the waterfall, and contains plants that are quite rare in the area, such as the mahogany, ebony, ivory palm, wild date palm, batoko plum, creepers and lianas. The national parks are home to an amazing variety of wildlife, including significant populations of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and antelope. Lions, African Leopards and South African Cheetahs are rarely seen, but Vervet Monkeys and baboons are frequent. Above the falls, the river is home to large hippo and crocodile populations, and in the dry season African Bush Elephants cross the river.