ZIMBABWE – Victoria Falls – View from the Zimbabwe side

Victoria Falls presents a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1800's as 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' – 'The Smoke that Thunders'. In more modern terms.

Victoria Falls (Lozi: Mosi-oa-Tunya, "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: Shungu Namutitima, "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals.

It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe[1] and is considered to be one of the world's largest waterfalls due to its width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft).


EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
In February 2020, National Geographic announced that the extreme weather conditions were threatening the natural existence of falls. This is because of the rising temperatures that make the region grow hotter and drier.


VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE, THE CITY
Victoria Falls is a city in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves.

According to the 2012 Population Census, the town had a population of 33,060.


HISTORY
The settlement began in 1901 when the possibility of using the waterfall for hydro-electric power was explored, and expanded when the railway from Bulawayo reached the town shortly before the Victoria Falls Bridge was opened in April 1905, connecting Southern Rhodesia (later Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe) to Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia).

It became the principal tourism centre for the Falls, experiencing economic booms from the 1930s to the 1960s and in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Victoria Falls gained city status on 9 December 2020.