Devil's cateract- Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
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Axel-F
S 17° 55.372 E 025° 50.859
35K E 377949 N 8017970
The Devil's cateract is the first stream (from Zim to Zam) of the magnificent Victoria Falls.
Waymark Code: WMFDQW
Location: Zimbabwe
Date Posted: 10/03/2012
Views: 17
"The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: the Smoke that Thunders; the 'i' is silent) is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Naming
David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls, on the 16th November 1855 — which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls.[1] David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honour of Queen Victoria, but the indigenous name of 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' — literally meaning the 'Cloud that Thunders' — is also well known. The World Heritage List recognizes both names.
Size
While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 feet) and height of 108 metres (354 feet), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls' maximum flow rate compares well with that of other major waterfalls (see table below).
For a considerable distance upstream from the falls, the Zambezi flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The river's course is dotted with numerous tree-covered islands, which increase in number as the river approaches the falls. There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys which might be expected to create a waterfall, only flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometres in all directions.
The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a transverse chasm 1708 metres (5604 feet) wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 metres (260 feet) at its western end to 108 metres (354 feet) in the centre. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 110 metres (360 feet) wide gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges.
There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle — the place that David Livingstone first saw the falls from in Zambia. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main streams are named, in order from Zimbabwe (west) to Zambia (east): Devil's Cataract (called Leaping Water by some), Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract."
Source: Wikipedia
I visited the falls in 1993, and twice in 1995. As a student I stayed in Zambia, so it was easy for me to cross the border and see the falls from both Zambia and Zimbabwe. I still consider it as one of the most beautifull places on earth. At night at the camp site the soothing sound of the falls were very relaxing, and at day time, the never ending spray....
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