Zambezi River Basin

© Candice Bate, WWF

As it traverses its more than 3 000-km journey from the Kalene Hills, Zambia to the Indian Ocean, the Zambezi River takes various shapes, with some sections wide while others are narrow. The river also makes twists and turns, flowing through deep gorges and flat floodplains.

Zambezi River Basin

TANZANIA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

ZAMBIA

ANGOLA

MALAWI

Z a m b e z i

UPPER ZAMBEZI

LUANGWA

LUNGÚE BUNGO

KABOMPO

L u n g u e B u n g o

SHIRE RIVER & LAKE MALAWI/ NIASSA/NYASA

K a b o m p o

L u a n g w a

MOZAMBIQUE

C u a n d o

LUANGINGA

KAFUE

K a f u e

BAROTSE

MUPATA

S h i r e

TETE

Z a m b e z i

M a z o e

CUANDO/CHOBE

Elevation

1 000 1 500 2 000 3 000

KARIBA

ZAMBEZI DELTA

NAMIBIA

S h a n g a n i

100 200 500

BOTSWANA

ZIMBABWE

Metres 0

Figure 1.2 The Zambezi River Basin is located between 8–20° S latitude and 16.5–36° E longitude in southern Africa (Chenje 2000). It drains an area of almost 1.4 million square kilometres, stretching across 8 of the 15 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

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