Victoria Falls

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Victoria Falls
Mosi-oa Tunya Shungu Namutitima
Location on the Zambezi-river
Coordinates	17°55′28″S 25°51′24″E / 17.92444°S 25.85667°E / -17.92444; 25.85667
Type	Cataract waterfall
Total height	108 m (355 ft)
Number of drops	1[1]
Watercourse	Zambezi River
Average flow rate	1,088 m3/s (38,400 cu ft/s)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, viii
Designated	1989 (13th session)
Reference no.	509
Region	List of World Heritage Sites in Africa

Victoria Falls (Lozi: Mosi-oa-Tunya, "Thundering Smoke"; 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^[2] and is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft).

Archeological sites and oral history describe a long record of African knowledge of the site. Though known to some European geographers before the 19th century, Scottish missionary David Livingstone identified the falls in 1855, naming them Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria. Since the mid 20th century, the site has been an increasingly important source of tourism. Zambia and Zimbabwe both have national parks and tourism infrastructure at the site. Research in the late 2010s found that precipitation variability due to climate change is likely to change the character of the fall.