Zambezi River, the largest river in southern Africa.

In the vast land of southern Africa, there are many great rivers, such as Zambezi River, limpopo river River and Orange River, among which Zambezi River has the longest flow and the largest drainage area. Zambezi River originates from the swamp at an altitude of1.300m in the northwest of Zambia, flows through Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe from west to east, and finally flows into the Indian Ocean (mozambique channel) in Hindi in central Mozambique, with a total length of 2,660 kilometers, making it the longest river in southern Africa. Zambezi River has a huge water system, including Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, with an area of 6.5438+0.33 million square kilometers, ranking fourth among all rivers in Africa and the largest river in southern Africa. Zambezi River means "river" in the local language. Zambezi River can be divided into upper, middle and lower reaches, with the upper and middle reaches at Victoria Falls and the middle and lower reaches at Cabra Bassa Canyon. 76% of Zambia's territory belongs to Zambezi River Basin, which is the largest river in Zambia. 93% of Malawi belongs to Zambezi River basin.

Zambezi River flows roughly from west to east through the ancient plateau in south-central Africa. The precipitation in the northern part of the basin exceeds 65,438+0,000mm, and the precipitation in the southern part of the basin is 600-800mm. Therefore, the north-south water system is different, with many tributaries on the north bank and few tributaries on the south bank. The upper reaches flow through the plateau area, the river is gently curved, and there are many swamps along the river. Only some rivers have rapids and waterfalls, and the main tributaries include Kuanduo River and Luanjingjia River. Most of the middle reaches of the river flow to the depth of the sandstone layer, and some places cut through the basalt layer, forming a landscape of alternating river valleys and submerged high plains. Zambezi River flows through Batoca Canyon, Kariba Canyon, Kabbalabasa Canyon and other canyons, with steep canyons and cliffs on both sides, forming the natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The main tributaries of the middle reaches are Kafue River and Luangwa River on the left bank. After flowing out of Cabra Bassa Canyon, Zambezi River flows downstream, first in the canyon and then into the coastal plain of Mozambique. The river is very wide, and in some places it is more than 8000 meters wide. Looking around, there are endless savanna on both sides, and large cornfields and sugarcane orchards on the river beach. Finally, it enters the Zambezi River Delta with an area of 6,000 square kilometers and flows into mozambique channel. There is only one big tributary downstream of Lake Malawi, the Shire River.

The Cuando River originates in central Angola and flows southeast. A section of more than 200 kilometers long becomes the natural border between Angola and Zambia, and another section to the east becomes the natural border between Botswana and Namibia, and it flows into Zambezi River near Casane, with a total length of 1046 kilometers, which is the longest tributary of Zambezi River. The Kafue River originates in the south of the Katanga Plateau watershed on the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, flows upstream through Kitwe, the second largest city in Zambia, and flows south for 970 kilometers, then flows into the Zambezi River under the Kalaba Dam. The Luangwa River originates from the border highlands in the northeast of Zambia, flows from northeast to southwest, and joins the Zambezi River near the border between Zambia and Mozambique, with a total length of 770 kilometers.

Zambezi river basin is located in the tropical grassland climate zone, with annual precipitation of 600 ~ 1500mm, which is obvious in dry and wet seasons. The rainy season is from 10 to April of the following year, and the annual rainfall will be reduced by 80%; There is little rain in the dry season from May to 10, and sometimes it doesn't rain for several months, which leads to obvious flood season and dry season in Zambezi River. The flood season flow changes greatly, and the maximum and minimum flow in the downstream reaches are different by 12 times! The Zambezi River estuary has an average annual flow of 16000 cubic meters per second and an average annual runoff of 223 billion cubic meters for many years, making it the second largest river in Africa after the Congo River.

Development and utilization of Zambezi River

The oldest and most extensive way to use Zambezi River is to irrigate farmland with water. At present, some farmland irrigation projects have been built in the basin, such as the Lower Shire Valley irrigation project in Malawi, which can irrigate 70,000 hectares of farmland; Irrigation project in Kafue lowland, Zambia. At present, more than 5 million hectares of farmland in the basin have been irrigated.

Zambezi River also provides domestic water for residents in many cities and villages in the basin. At present, the Zambezi River basin has a population of over 34 million, and the cities with a population of over one million in the basin include Lusaka (the capital and largest city of Zambia), Harare (the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe), Lilongwe (the capital and second largest city of Malawi) and Blantyre (the largest city of Malawi). Lusaka, with a population of more than 3 million, mainly relies on the Kafue River, which is 10 km away.

Most of the Zambezi River flows through the South African Plateau at an altitude of 500- 1500m and passes through a series of canyons, forming more than 70 rapids, rapids and waterfalls. The total hydropower reserves exceed 65438+ 1 100 million kilowatts, ranking second among all rivers in Africa. It is one of the rivers with the richest hydropower generation in the world, and there are many excellent dam sites for dam construction and power generation. At present, many hydropower stations have been built in various countries in the basin, such as Shankafue Gorge Hydropower Station (with an installed capacity of 900,000 kilowatts, which belongs to Zambia), Malamba Hydropower Station (which belongs to Zambia and Zimbabwe), Nkula Hydropower Station (which belongs to Malawi), Tezhaxi Hydropower Station (which belongs to Malawi) and Kabbah Labaca Hydropower Station (which belongs to Mozambique).

Kariba Hydropower Station is located in Kariba Canyon of Zambezi River at the junction of Zambia and Zimbabwe. A concrete double arch dam with a height of 128 m, a crest length of 6 17 m and a width of 13 m cut the Zambezi River in the middle, forming a huge Kariba reservoir with an average width of 19 km and an area of 565433. The construction of the dam began in 1955 (at that time, it was * * * by northern rhodesia and southern rhodesia), and the first unit began to generate electricity in 1959. After several expansions, the total installed capacity now reaches1320,000 kilowatts, and the annual power generation is 8 billion kwh. The electricity produced by the Kariba North Shore Hydropower Station is exported to Zambia, and the electricity produced by the Kariba South Shore Hydropower Station is exported to Zimbabwe.

The Cabra Bassa Dam is built in the Cabra Bassa Canyon of Zambezi River, which is located150km east of Tete, a city in western Mozambique. The dam is1.63m high, intercepting Zambezi River. The maximum storage capacity of Kabarasha Reservoir is 63 billion cubic meters, ranking fourth among all major reservoirs in Africa. With an installed capacity of 410.5 million kilowatts and an annual power generation of 20.5 billion kwh, Baxia Hydropower Station is the largest hydropower station in Africa at present. Cabra Bassa Water Control Project has comprehensive benefits such as power generation, irrigation, flood control and shipping. The project started construction in 1969 (at that time, it was a Portuguese overseas colony and Mozambique gained independence in 1975), and was fully completed and put into operation in 1988.

The rich hydropower development of Zambezi River is still in progress. Zimbabwe plans to build Mupata Gorge Hydropower Station downstream of Kariba Hydropower Station, Mozambique plans to build Mepanda Anqua Hydropower Station, Boroma Hydropower Station and Lupata Hydropower Station downstream of Kabbalassa Dam at 64km, 106km and14 km, and Zambia plans to build Xiakafue Gorge Hydropower Station (built by China Hydropower Station) in kafue Gorge.

The Country of Copper Mines-Zambia

Zambezi River basin is rich in mineral resources. The copper-cobalt mine in Zambia's "copper belt" and the chromium mine in Harare, central Zimbabwe are world-famous large-scale mineral sites. Zambia is called "the country of copper mines" because it is a major copper storage, production and export country in the world. According to the data of American Resource Survey in 20 15 years, Zambia's copper reserves are 20 million tons, ranking 10 in the world. Zambia's copper resources are concentrated in the "copper belt" area with a length of 200 kilometers and a width of 65 kilometers in the north. The proven copper reserves here exceed 65.438+0.2 billion tons, with an average grade of 2.5%. The "copper belt" includes the largest open-pit copper mine in Zambia, Enchanga copper mine, one of the four largest open-pit copper mines in the world, Lu Mwana copper mine, one of the largest undeveloped copper mines in the world, and Konkola copper mine with proven reserves exceeding 200 million tons. Zambia started the modern mining and smelting of copper as early as the19th century, and was the fourth largest copper producer and the third largest copper exporter in the world in the mid-1960s. Since the 1990s, copper production has been declining year after year, with a minimum of 300,000 tons. In recent years, Zambia's copper production has exceeded 600,000 tons, and in 2065,438+07, Zambia's copper production reached 850,000 tons, ranking seventh in the world. Zambia's copper mines are associated with a large number of cobalt minerals, with the second largest cobalt reserves in the world and now the second largest cobalt producer in the world. Copper mining, smelting and rough processing in Zambia are one of Zambia's economic pillars. Crude copper accounts for about 60% of Zambia's total export commodities and is the largest export commodity. Zambia is now the third largest exporter of crude copper in the world.

The political, economic and cultural center of Zambia, the "country of copper mines", is Lusaka, which is known as the "copper capital". It is located in the middle of Zambia, just 10 kilometers south of the Kafue River. It is the capital and largest city of Zambia with a population of more than 3 million. Lusaka is an important transportation hub in southern Africa. The railway connects Malamba, Botswana, South Africa and other world-famous tourist cities in Nantong. North Dakota, pirim and Bosch are connected to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, which runs along the Indian Ocean to Dar es Salaam, and to the Zambian "copper belt" and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the north. For inland Zambia, Tanzania-Zambia Railway is undoubtedly a "lifeline" and the main channel for Zambia's import and export commodities. 1964, newly independent Zambia and Tanzania planned to build a railway from Zambia to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast. The World Bank loan was rejected, and the former Soviet Union was rejected for help, but the China government provided selfless support; After 1970, China provided interest-free loans of 988 million yuan to Zambia and Tanzania, and sent 56,000 engineers and technicians to build the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in Dar es Salaam, with a total length of 1860.5 km, starting from Bo Shi, Ka pirim, central Zambia. After many hardships, it was completed and opened to traffic at 1976 at the expense of 69 China engineers and technicians. Known as the "Garden City", Lusaka hosted the Third Summit of Non-Aligned Countries in 1970 with its prosperous city, convenient transportation and beautiful environment. Lusaka has a high brand value, ranking 358th in the list of "Top 500 Global Cities 20 19" published by City Laboratory, ahead of Harare, Dakar, Alexandria, Shenyang, Nara and other famous cities.

Victoria Falls (Mosio Tunia Falls)

Zambezi River is famous for its many canyons, rapids and waterfalls. There are more than 70 waterfalls on the Zambezi River with a total length of more than 2,600 kilometers. The most famous canyons are Batoca Canyon, Kariba Canyon and Cabra Bassa Canyon. Batoca Canyon is located near Malamba in the southwest of Zambia, where Zambezi River is deeply penetrated by huge basalt, forming a huge canyon with a length of 1.30 km. The whole canyon is composed of eight small canyons which are nearly east-west, and Victoria Falls is the first waterfall in the small canyons.

Victoria Falls was discovered by David Livingstone, an Englishman, during his exploration here in the middle of19th century. He named the waterfall "Victoria" after the then Queen of England. Locals call it "Mercio Tunia", which means "it sounds like thunder rain and fog". When the Zambezi River flows here, it is bound by the canyon, the river surface is tight, and the current suddenly accelerates, and it flows downstream from the wide rock wall at the speed of 100 meters per second, forming a huge waterfall with the maximum height 122 meters and the width 1800 meters. Victoria Falls is divided into five parts because there are four small islands between the canyons. The westernmost section is the Devil's Waterfall with thunder, and the eastern section is the horseshoe waterfall, rainbow waterfall and colorful East Waterfall with huge water volume. The main waterfall is in the middle, with a height of 122 m and a width of 65432 m. The maximum discharge of Victoria Falls in rainy season is 10000 cubic meters per second. Five waterfalls merge into a huge water flow and fall into a small pool, which has the potential of Ma Benteng. The water rolled up and down like a boiling pot, and the thunderous roaring sound energy spread to 15 kilometers away. Rainbow often flashes in splashing water, and the water vapor of the great waterfall can rise to more than 300 meters, making it full of water vapor and clouds, which can be seen from 40 kilometers away. On a moonlit night, the rising water vapor will form a strange "moon rainbow". Victoria Falls is famous for its shape, scale and sound. Known as the "Wonder of the World", it is one of the three most famous waterfalls in the world (the other two are Niagara Falls and Iguazu Falls).

1905, the British built a railway leading to Victoria Falls, and set up a road-rail bridge at a small ferry named "Malamba" at the lower reaches of Victoria Falls 10 km (north bank of Zambezi River). British colonists called it Livingstone in memory of David Livingstone who first discovered Victoria Falls. During the period of1911~1935, it was the capital of "Northern Rhodesia Reserve" in Britain. Later, hydropower stations, factories and hotels were built in small towns. 1964 After Zambia became independent, it was renamed Malamba, which was used as the capital of the southern province, and an international airport was built to become a famous tourist city in Zambia, with an existing population of about 654.38+10,000. Malamba enjoys a world-renowned reputation, ranking 446th in the list of "Top 500 Global Cities of 20 19" released by City Lab, and it is one of the 35 African cities that entered the list.

In order to promote the development of tourism, the Zambian government has made every effort to build the tourist city of Malamba, and cooperated with Zimbabwe to build the "Mosio Tunia National Park". Built in 1989, the National Park consists of an area of 23 square kilometers near Victoria Falls in Zambia and an area of 43 square kilometers near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, with a total area of 66 square kilometers, to protect wild animals such as antelopes, zebras, rhinoceroses and African elephants in this area. "Tunia Falls in Mosio (Victoria Falls)" was listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1989. The World Heritage Committee commented at that time that it was one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The Zambezi River is more than 2 kilometers wide, and the waterfall flows into the basalt canyon. You can see the rainbow formed by water mist 20 kilometers away. Victoria falls, across the river from Malamba, is a famous tourist city in Zimbabwe, with many high-end hotels and frequent international conferences.

Lake Malawi and Hill River

In the east of Zambezi River basin, there is a beautiful lake, which is the third largest lake in Africa-Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi is located at the southernmost tip of the Rift Valley in East Africa, at the junction of Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. Most of the lake belongs to Malawi. To the east of the lake is the Livingston Mountains, to the west is the Vipia Mountains, to the north is the Carney Plateau, and only to the south is a low-lying valley. Except the south, there are mountains and obstacles on three sides, green mountains and green waters, misty clouds and beautiful scenery. The whole lake is a long and narrow north-south lake, covering an area of 29,600 square kilometers, with an altitude of 472 meters and a deepest point of 706 meters at the north end. It is the third largest lake in Africa (after Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika), the fourth deepest lake in the world and the tenth largest lake in the world (located in Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, Lake Victoria, Aral Sea, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan). There are 14 rivers around Lake Malawi, which flow southward into Zambezi River through Shire River. The lake area has a warm climate, abundant water, fertile soil and lush flowers and plants, and has always been a tourist attraction in Africa. Because of its large number of fish, it is praised as the "Star of Stars" by fishing enthusiasts, and can be used for leisure sports such as swimming, fishing, diving, kayaking, sailing and rowing. Lake Malawi is a lake formed by fault collapse, formerly known as Lake Niassa. "Niassa" means "Dashui" in the local language, and the area where the lake is located is called Niasalan; 1964 The British colony Nyasaland gained independence and was renamed Malawi. Lake Nyasal was also renamed Lake Malawi. "Malawi" means "flame", which means that the golden sun shines on the lake, and the lake shines with dazzling flames.

At the southern end of Lake Malawi, there is a Cape Maclear Peninsula, surrounded by 12 small islands in the lake. The area of about 300 square kilometers here is "Lake Malawi National Park", 1984 was listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. The evaluation of the World Heritage Committee is that it is located at the southernmost tip of the wide Lake Malawi, with clear and deep water and mountains behind it; Lake Malawi National Park protects hundreds of endemic fish, and its importance to evolutionary research can be compared with that of finches in Galapagos Islands in western Ecuador.

Shire River is the only outlet of Lake Malawi. It originated at the southern end of Hunan Province, flowed southward into Marongbei Lake, and then flowed through an 80-kilometer canyon from north to south, forming a series of waterfalls. After that, it enters the Shire Lowland with an altitude of less than 150m below Kwakachi, Malawi, joins the tributaries such as the Luohe River, passes through the Ndiendi swamp, and finally joins the Zambezi River in Fontais, Mozambique, with a total length of 600km. The Schiller lowland in the lower reaches of the Schiller River is a developed agricultural area in Malawi, with low terrain, wide valley, fertile soil and dense population. On both sides are vast fields of tobacco, sugarcane and corn.

On the prairie

On both sides of the Zambezi River, dense tall grass and tall and strange baobabs, acacia trees and palm trees can be seen everywhere. In the dry season, the grass is yellow, the trees are deciduous, the river is not flowing, and the land is cracked; With the arrival of the rainy season, the grassland quickly recovered its vitality, a vibrant scene. The tall yellow grass has become lush, and Bobo trees that have been tested in dry season are more energetic, and the trees are thick and bloated. The African kapok tree, known as the "Sentinel of the Tropical Grassland", is more upright, and thrilling feeding scenes are being staged among the trees and grasslands.

The Zambezi River basin is sparsely populated and undeveloped, and the savanna has basically maintained its original appearance, making it an ideal paradise for tropical grassland dwellers. Huge hippos and fierce crocodiles float in the water, zebras and antelopes run in droves, giraffes eat leaves with their long necks stretched out, and lions, cheetahs and wolves chase their prey. In order to protect the ecological environment and rich animals and plants here, countries in the basin began to build nature reserves at the beginning of last century. At present, the famous wildlife reserves (also known as national parks) in the basin include Kafue National Park (in Zambia), South Luangwa National Park (in Zambia), North Luangwa National Park (in Zambia), Manap Les National Park (in Zimbabwe), Sabi and Cherokee Nature Reserves (in Zimbabwe).

South Luangwa National Park is located in the middle reaches of Luangwa River in eastern Zambia. It was built in 1972 and covers an area of 9,050 square kilometers. It is the second largest national park in Zambia. There are 60 species of mammals, more than 400 species of birds and dozens of reptiles. Famous animals are hippo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, elephant, African wild dog (wolf), lion, antelope, fishing owl, crowned crane, vulture, crocodile, rouge bee and so on. Among them, the largest number are elephants and black rhinos (both in thousands). Located in the middle reaches of the Kafue River in central and western Zambia, Kafue National Park, covering an area of 22,500 square kilometers, was built in 1950 (then Northern Rhodesia, England). The park is extremely rich in animal species, including herds of antelopes, buffaloes and zebras, as well as baboons, lions, leopards and more than 600 kinds of birds. It is one of the largest national parks in the world (the world-famous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania covers an area of 2,000.

Manapols National Park is located on the south bank of Zambezi River in the northeast of Kariba Reservoir in northern Zimbabwe, bordering Zambia. Built in 1963, with an area of 2 196 square kilometers. It is a grassland forest ecosystem that protects African elephants, zebras, antelopes, hippos, rhinos, warthogs, hyenas, leopards, African lions, buffaloes, crocodiles and so on. The national park is also the only park in Africa where lions haunt, but guided hiking is allowed. On the northern border of Zimbabwe, not far from Manas National Park, Sabi Nature Reserve (with an area of 3,390 square kilometers) and Cheorei Nature Reserve (with an area of 1 180 square kilometers) near Mupata Canyon in the middle reaches of Zambezi River were built in 1964, mainly to protect antelopes, zebras, hippos, black rhinoceroses, elephants and elephants. Mana Puls National Park, Sabi and Chievore Nature Reserve were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List on 1984. World Heritage Committee's evaluation: along the Zambezi River, the steep cliffs and flood-washed plains provide a paradise for wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, leopards and cheetahs. Among them, Nile crocodile is an important population in this area.