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westerly course for about :50 m., turns more directly south and, soon after the 12° S. is crossed, is joined by a stream (coming from the north-west) whose source is near a marshy See also:

lake called Dilolo, 4600 ft. above sea-level in II° 50' S., 22° 10' E.

Lake Dilolo was at one See also:

time believed to communicate with the See also:

KASAI, or CASSAI

Kasai river, one of the See also:

GREAT

great affluents of the Congo flowing north-west, but this is not the See also:

case. Dilolo belongs to the Zambezi See also:

SYSTEM

system only, sending water to that river after heavy See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain. The Zambezi as it flows southward receives on either See also:

side numerous small tributaries. A few miles above Kakengi (in 12° 24' S.), the Zambezi, narrow, picturesque and tortuous, suddenly widens from too to 350 yds. Below Kakengi are a number of rapids ending (13° 7' S.) in the Sapuma cataracts. At this point the river flows tumultuously through a rocky fissure. The first of its large tributaries to enter the Zambezi is the Kabompo, a See also:

LEFT

left-See also:

hand affluent. It joins the main stream in 14° 26' S. A little lower down (in 14° 18' S.) the Zambezi receives from the west the See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of a much larger stream than the Kabompo, namely, the Lungwebungu. (For details concerning these and the other See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief tributaries of the Zambezi_, see below.) The See also:

SAVANNAH

savannah forest, which has hitherto characterized the country, now gives See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place to a more open See also:

BUSH

bush valley, studded with Borassus palms. Dense vegetation is confined to narrow strips of matted forest which skirt the first few hundred yards of the See also:

SOURCES

sources of the Zambezi and its tributaries during the first See also:

ioo m. or so. The See also:

LAND

land, from 5000 ft. at the source, falls gradually to 360o ft. at Kakengi—a distance of 220 m.

From this point until the See also:

Victoria Falls are reached—5oo m.—fhe level of the Zambezi basin is very See also:

UNIFORM

uniform, the fall being in this distance 60o ft. only. Twenty miles below the confluence of the Lungwebungu the country becomes See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat, and in the See also:

RAINY, ROBERT (1826-1906)

rainy seasons is largely covered by floods. Some 50 m. farther down, the Luanginga, which with its tributaries drains a large area to the westward, joins the Zambezi. A few miles higher up on the east the main stream is reinforced by the waters of the Luena. On the same (eastern) side a little below the junction of the Luanginga and the Zambezi stands Lialui, the See also:

capital of the See also:

BAROTSE, BAROTSELAND

Barotse (q.v.). The river, which for some distance has had a slight western as well as See also:

SOUTHERN

southern trend, now turns distinctly south-east. From the east the Zambezi continues to receive numerous small streams, but on the west is without tributaries for 15o m., when the great river formerly misnamed the See also:

CHOBE

Chobe, but known to the natives as Kwando or Linyante, joins it (in 17° 47' S.). Before this junction is effected, the Gonye Falls, the See also:

WORK

work of erosion (16° 40' S.), offer an interruption to See also:

NAVIGATION (from Lat. navis, ship, and agere, to move)

navigation, whilst below the falls are numerous rapids. The western See also:

BANK

bank of the Zambezi, which in this See also:

PART

part of its course is very tortuous, is See also:

German territory from the most southern of these rapids—Katima Molilo (17° 28' S.) —to the confluence of the Kwando, including the right or See also:

NORTHERN

northern bank of the lower course of the last-named river; this narrow See also:

STRIP

strip of land projecting from the main portion of German South-West Africa expressly to allow See also:

Germany See also:

ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access to the Zambezi. Below the junction of the Kwando and the Zambezi the river bends almost due east. The stream has hitherto flowed, in the main, in a See also:

GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle steady current, the See also:

DEPTH

depth of water, owing to the breadth of the channel, not being great. But its See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character is about to See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change.

As it flows eastward towards the border of the great central See also:

plateau of Africa it reaches a tremendous chasm in the See also:

FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor of the See also:

earth, and thus the Victoria Falls (q.v.), the largest waterfalls in the See also:

WORLD

world, are formed. The See also:

MIDDLE

Middle Zambezi.—The Victoria Falls are reached some 6o m. after the Kwando confluence is passed, and below them the river continues to flow due east for about 120 M. It then cuts its way through perpendicular walls of See also:

BASALT

basalt from 6o to too ft. apart. This See also:

DISMAL

dismal See also:

CANYON (Anglicized form of Span. canon, a tube, pipe or cannon; the Spanish form being also frequently written)

canyon, named by See also:

Major St See also:

Hill See also:

Gibbons " The See also:

DEVIL (Gr. &a,3oXos, " slanderer," from &ctflisXX sty, to slander)

Devil's See also:

GORGE

Gorge," is 8 m. See also:

long. Towering over the rocks which See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the See also:

banks of the river are precipitous hills, 700 to 800 ft. high. Theriver flows swiftly through the gorge, the current being continually interrupted by reefs. Beyond the gorge are a See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of rapids, ending with those called Molele, which is 146 m. below the Victoria Falls. In this distance the fall of the river is 80o ft. From the Devil's Gorge the Zambezi takes a decided trend north whilst still pursuing its See also:

general easterly course. For the next 700 m. until the Kebrabasa Rapids are reached, the river flows through well-defined and occasionally rocky banks. Besides the rapids already mentioned there are several others in the middle stretch of the river, forming impediments to navigation at See also:

low water. One of the most difficult passages is that of a See also:

GRAND

grand gorge a little above the mouth of the Loangwa, in about 30° E., named by Major Gibbons See also:

LIVINGSTONE, DAVID (1813-1873)

Livingstone's Kariba, in distinction from a second Kariba (= " gorge ") a little beyond the Kafukwe confluence.

Between the two See also:

GORGES, SIR FERDINANDO (c. 1566-1647)

gorges the river is generally unobstructed, but at the western end of the second Kariba navigation is dangerous at low water. Exclusive of the See also:

SHIRE

Shire (q.v.) the Loangwa and the Kafukwe (also called Kafue) just mentioned are the two largest left-hand tributaries of the Zambezi. The Kafukwe joins the main river in 15° 57' S. in a quiet deep stream about 200 yds. wide. From this point the northward See also:

BEND

bend of the Zambezi is checked and the stream continues due east. At the confluence of the Loangwa (15° 37' S.) it enters Portuguese territory, and from this point to the sea both banks of the river belong to that See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom. At the Kebrabasa Rapids—800 rn. below the Victoria Falls—the Zambezi is sharply deflected to the south, the river at this point breaking through the See also:

CONTINENTAL

continental escarpment to reach the sea. The Kebrabasa Rapids, which extend about 45 tn.-the road taking a detour of 7o m.—are absolutely unnavigable, and with them the middle stretch of the Zambezi as definitely ends as does the upper river at the Victoria Falls. The Lower River.—The lower Zambezi—400 m. from Kebrabasa Rapids to the sea—presents no obstacles to navigation See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save the shallowness of the stream in many places in the dry See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season. This shallowness arises from the different character of the river basin. Instead of, as in the case of the middle Zambezi, flowing mainly through hilly country with well-defined banks, the river traverses a broad valley and spreads out over a large area. Only at one point, the Lupata Gorge, zoo m. from its mouth, is the river confined between high hills. Here it is scarcely 200 yds. wide.

Elsewhere it is from 3 to 5 M. wide, flowing gently in many streams. The river-See also:

bed is sandy, the banks are low and See also:

reed-fringed. At places, however, and especially in the rainy season, the streams unite into one broad See also:

swift-flowing river. About ioo m. from the sea the Zambezi receives the drainage of Lake See also:

NYASA

Nyasa through the river Shire. On approaching the ocean, which it reaches in 18° 50' S. the Zambezi splits up into a number of branches and forms a wide See also:

DELTA (from the shape of the Gr. letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the Nile)

delta. Each of the four See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal mouths—Milambe, Kongone, Luabo and Timbwe—is obstructed by a See also:

sand-See also:

bar. A more northerly branch, called the See also:

CHINDE

Chinde mouth, has a minimum depth at low water of 7 ft. at the entrance, and of 12 ft. farther in, and is the branch used for navigation. Vixty miles farther north is a river called the Qua :Qua or QuilimaTle, from the See also:

TOWN

town founded by the Portuguese ,at its mouth. This stream, which is silting up, receives in the rainy season the overflow of the Zambezi. The region drained by the Zambezi may be represented as a vast broken-edged plateau 3000 or 4000 ft. high, composed in the remote interior of metamorphic beds and fringed with the igneous rocks of the Victoria Falls. At Shupanga, on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of See also:

grey and yellow sandstones, with an occasional See also:

BAND

band of See also:

LIMESTONE

limestone, See also:

CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop out on the bed of the river in the dry season, and these persist beyond Tete, where they are associated with extensive seams of See also:

COAL

coal. Coal is also found in the See also:

DISTRICT

district just below the Victoria Falls.

See also:

Gold-bearing rocks occur in several places. Four Thousand Miles of Navigable Water.—As a See also:

HIGHWAY

highway into the interior of the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent the Zambezi, like all other large See also:

AFRICAN

African rivers, in greater or less degree, suffers on See also:

account of the bar at its mouth, the shallowness of its stream, and the rapids and cataracts which interrupt its course. Nevertheless its importance to See also:

commerce is great, as the following recapitulation of its navigable stretches will show. (t) From the sea to the Kebrabasa Rapids, 400 M. (2) From Chikoa (above Kebrabasa) to within 140 M. of the Victoria Falls, 700 M. (3) From the rapids above the Victoria Falls to the Katima Molilo Rapids, too m. (4) Above the Gonye Falls to the Supuma See also:

CATARACT (from the Lat. form cataracta of the Gr. Karapplucrgss, a floodgate, or waterfall, properly something which rushes down)

cataract, 300 M. (5) Above the Supuma cataract, 12o M. Thus for 162o m. of its course the Zambezi is navigable for steamers with a See also:

DRAUGHT (from the common Teutonic word " to draw "; cf. Ger. 7'racht, load; the pronunciation led to the variant form " draft," now confined to certain specific meanings)

draught of from 18 to 28 in. Were the obstruction caused by the Kebrabasa Rapids removed, there would be a clear passage from the sea almost to the See also:

FOOT

foot of the cataracts below the Victoria Falls. The difficulty at Kebrabasa might be removed either by the cutting of a side channel or the See also:

BUILDING

building of a See also:

dam to convert the gorge into a lake, to be connected with the river below by a See also:

lock and See also:

weir. Several of the Zambezi affluents are also navigable for many miles.

The Lungwebungu, which enters the upper river, is navigable for a long distance, thus supplying communication with the extreme north-west corner of the Zambezi basin. Parts at least of the Luena, Kafukwe, Loangwa and the Kwando tributaries are also capable of being navigated. The possibility of connecting the Kwando with the navigable waters of the Okavango, at the point where the overflow mentioned below takes place, has likewise been suggested. The Shire is also navigable for a considerable distance. The sum of such navigable reaches within the Zambezi basin as exceed See also:

LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo m. is nearly 4000 M. Tributaries.—The tributaries of the Zambezi are very numerous. The course of the more important streams is as follows: The Kabompo, which flows in from the east in about 14° 8' S., rises not far from II° 34' S., 25° 17' E. in the high land which forms the eastern See also:

WATERSHED

watershed between the Zambezi and Congo systems. In 134° S. it receives on the right bank a tributary, the Lunga, said to be more important than the upper Kabompo itself, and rising somewhat farther north. The Lungwebungu, which enters the Zambezi from the west in 14° 35' S., is a strong, deep stream 200 yds. wide in its upper course, flowing in a valley bordered by undulations of See also:

white sand covered by thin forest, its floor forming at times an inundated See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain 2 to 3 M. wide. The Kwando, largest of the western affluents of the Zambezi, formerly known as the Chobe and frequently spoken of as the Linyante from the ruined capital of the Makololo, situated on its lower course, rises in about 12° 40' S., 18° 50' E., and flows in a generally straight course south-east to 170 30' S., at which point it makes a sudden bend to the south before flowing east to the Zambezi. In this eastward stretch the Kwando for some 70 M. flows through a vast reedy swamp or lake studded with alluvial islands. Apart from its See also:

head-streams, it receives most of its tributaries from the west, and at its most southern bend is joined by the See also:

MAGWE

Magwe'-kwana, which in time of See also:

flood receives some of the surplus water of the Okavango (see See also:

NGAMI

NGAMI).

This surplus water, received after most of the flood water of the Kwando has passed, raises the level of the lake and holds up the waters of the Kwando for some miles above it. Of the streams which enter the upper Zambezi from the east, the largest, after the Kabompo, is the Luena, which rises in 16° S., 26° E., and flows first north-west, afterwards west-south-west, joining the main river a little north of 15° S. Others are the Njoko joining in 17° 8' S., the Machili, which enters in about 25° E., the Lambi, 16° 45' S., and the Umgwezi, 17° 37' S. The largest tributary of the middle Zambezi—the Kafukwe—rises in about 11° 35' at an See also:

ELEVATION

elevation of 4400 ft. in thick forest country. The main head-stream, which flows first south-east, afterwards south-west, is joined in 14° 35' S. by the Lunga or Luanga, an important right-bank tributary, the See also:

UNITED

united stream then flowing first south, afterwards due east. The lower Kafukwe is a large navigable river until about 40 M. from its mouth, but it then descends from the plateau by a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of falls and cataracts, the drop being over woo ft. in 15 m., one very high fall occurring in a stupendous chasm. The next great tributary to the east is the Loangwa (also called Luangwa) which in its upper course runs parallel to the western shores of Lake Nyasa, having its source not far from the north-west corner of the lake. The main stream flows in a generally level valley, bounded by steep plateau escarpments, and is for the most part shallow and rapid, though fairly wide. In 14° 3o' S., however, it passes through narrow gorges with a See also:

SPEED, JOHN (1552–1629)

speed of 8 or 9 M. an See also:

HOUR

hour. In 15° 5' S. it is joined by the Lunsefwa, which, with its tributary, the Lukosasi, drains a large extent of the western plateau, its basin being separated by the Mchinga mountains from that of the Loangwa. The Loangwa joins the Zambezi a little above the town of Zumbo. For some distance its lower course forms the frontier between Portuguese and British territory.

From the south the middle Zambezi receives various rivers which water northern See also:

MATABELE (" vanishing " or " hidden " people, so called from their appearance in battle, hidden behind enormous oxhide shields)

Matabele and See also:

MASHONA

Mashona lands—namely, the Shangani, Sanyati, and Hanyani, besides See also:

minor streams. The Mazoe, which also rises in Mashonaland, joins the Zambezi below the Kebrabasa Rapids. Exploration of the River.—The Zambezi region was known to the See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval geographers as the See also:

EMPIRE

empire of See also:

MONOMOTAPA

Monomotapa and the course of the river, as well as the position of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, was filled in with a See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude approximation to accuracy in the earlier maps. These were probably constructed from Arab See also:

INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information. The first See also:

EUROPEAN

European to visit the upper Zambezi was See also:

David Livingstone in his exploration from See also:

BECHUANALAND (a name given from its inhabitants, the Bechuana, q.v.)

Bechuanaland between 1851 and 1853. Two or three years later he descended the Zambezi to its mouth and in the course of this See also:

JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey discovered the Victoria Falls. During 1858–6o, accompanied by Dr (afterwards See also:

Sir) See also:

John See also:

KIRK, SIR JOHN (1832- )

Kirk, Livingstone ascended the river by the Kongone mouth as far as the Falls, besides tracing the course of its tributary the Shire and discovering Lake Nyasa. For the next See also:

THIRTY

thirty-five years practically no additions were made to our knowledge of the river system. In 1889 the entrance of vessels from the sea was much facilitated by the See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery by Mr D. J. Rankin of the Chinde channel north of the main mouths of the river. Major A.

St Hill Gibbons and his assistants, during two expeditions, in 1895–q6 and 1898–1900, ably continued the work of exploration begun by Livingstonein the upper basin and central course of the river. Of non-British travellers Major Serpa See also:

Pinto examined some of the western tributaries of the river and made measurements of the Victoria Falls (1878). Steamers had been used on the lower river—the "Ma-See also:

Robert" and the "See also:

PIONEER

Pioneer "--by the Livingstone expedition of 1858–61, but the utilization of the Zambezi as a commercial highway was inconsiderable until after the discovery of the Chinde mouth. The first steamer placed on the river above the Kebrabasa Rapids was the "See also:

Constance" launched by the Gibbons expedition at Chikoa in See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 1898. She steamed to beyond the Guay confluence, and being ultimately sold to a commercial See also:

COMPANY

company, was used to carry goods on the middle Zambezi. The first steamer placed on the river above the Victoria Falls was the " Livingstone," launched in See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1902. See David and See also:

Charles Livingstone, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries (1865); A. de Serpa Pinto, How I Crossed Africa (1881); D. J. Rankin in Proc. R. G. S.

(See also:

March, 1890) ; A. See also:

SHARPE, DANIEL (18o6-1856)

Sharpe, ibid. (See also:

DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December, 1890) ; H. S. Bivar, " Curso medio do Zambeze," B. S. G. Lisboa, vol. See also:

XXIV

xxiv. (1906) ; G. W. Lamplugh in Geo. Jnl., vol. xxxi.

(1908); F. Coillard, On the See also:

THRESHOLD

Threshold of Central Africa (See also:

LONDON

London, 1897), and A. St H. Gibbons. Africa from South to North through Marotseland (2 vols., London, 1904), which gives the results of a detailed examination of the upper Zambezi valley (with See also:

map). The last-named author has kindly revised the account given above. (F. R.

End of Article: ZAMBEZI

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