ForumIAS LATEST
- 05 June | MGP Strategy Series | GS Paper 3 Strategy Session with AIR 406 Mannat Luthra Click Here to register for the session →
- 06 June | Open Orientation on Essay Guidance Program (EGP 2026) Click Here to register →
- 07 June | Open Orientation for Current Affairs for Mains 2026 Click Here to register →
- 07 June | Sociology Optional Strategy Session with AIR 10 Ujjwal Priyank Click Here to register →
News: A 500MW Floating Solar Plant is being designed to be installed at Kariba Dam to boost power supply in Zimbabwe.
About Zambezi River and Kariba Dam
About Zambezi River
- The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa (after Nile, Congo, Niger).
- Origin: It starts off in a shallow depression in Angola’s southern highlands, at the source of a river called the Lungwebungu.
- Length: It has a total length of 3,421 km.
- Drains into: It drains into the Indian Ocean via a 100-km-wide delta.
- Countries covered: It flows through Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
- Tributaries: The main tributaries of the Zambezi River include the Shire, Kafue, Luangwa, Kabompo, and Cuando (Kwando) rivers.
- Waterfalls: The river is known for several notable waterfalls, including Victoria Falls, one of the world’s largest waterfalls, and the Chavuma Falls on the Zambia-Angola border.
- Famous Dams: Cohara Bassa and Kariba Dams
About Kariba Dam
- Location: The Kariba dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- Size: It stands about 128 m tall and stretches around 617 m in length.
- It was constructed between 1956 and 1959.
- It has created Lake Kariba, the largest man-made lake in the world by reservoir storage capacity, holding 181 cubic kilometers of water.
- It can generate around 1,700 MW of electricity for Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- Each country has its own power station, one on the north bank and one on the south bank of the dam.
