Zambesi

Zambesi, Vasco da Gama's 'River of Good Signs,' which ranks with the Congo and the Nile as a means of communication with the interior of Africa. A highway for the nations of the world, the river, which is between 1550 and 1600 miles long, is an important factor in the development of South Africa. Immediately after its rise in the marshy country to the west of Bangweolo it passes through Lake Dilolo at the extreme south-west point of the Congo Free State, about 22° 20' E. long. and 11° 40' S. lat. On its way to the Indian Ocean the Zambesi drains more than half a million square miles of territory. It receives many tributaries, notably the Loamba, Kafue, Loangwa, and Shire, by which last named the British lake country and Equatorial Africa are approached from the south. For about two-thirds of its length from the source the Zambesi flows through British protected territory, entering the Portuguese possessions near Zumbo. Owing to many cataracts, narrows, and rapids, navigation is only clear for stretches of 100 or 200 miles. Small steamers may go from the mouth as far as the Kebrabassa Falls. Above that point the river, which has a very noble aspect at some parts, is navigable with occasional interruptions till the Victoria Falls are reached, 900 miles from the sea. These falls, as great and grand as those of Niagara, were discovered and named in 1855 by Dr Livingstone; the native name being Mosioatunya or, at an earlier date, Shongwe. The river, which is here 1000 yards broad, drops sheer into a huge fissure in the earth's surface nearly 400 feet deep. Beyond this for 700 miles the river forms a partial waterway to the interior. The delta of the Zambesi comprises an area of 2500 sq. m., and it has a number of mouths all more or less blocked with sand. Those named the Clinde and Kongoni are used for entering the Zambesi. The former has a length of 18 miles from the sea to its junction with the great river. Sena, an important town, 130 miles from the ocean, is on the south bank of the Zambesi; and Tete, 190 miles farther, near the Kebrabassa Falls, is a trading centre for gold and ivory. Zumbo, another trading station, is 550 miles from the sea. Two British gunboats are now placed on the Zambesi.