Victoria Falls lies on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is named after Queen Victoria. The waterfall forms where the Zambezi River plunges into a narrow series of basalt gorges in southern Africa.
The local name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, means “The Smoke That Thunders,” referring to the spray cloud and tremendous sound produced by the falling water. Scottish explorer David Livingstone saw the falls in 1855 and named them Victoria Falls in honor of the British monarch. The indigenous name remains widely used, especially in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Victoria Falls is about 1,708 meters wide and has a maximum height of roughly 108 meters. Seasonal flow changes dramatically, with the spray and volume generally greatest after the rainy season. UNESCO inscribed the site as a World Heritage Site in 1989. Iguazu Falls is another immense waterfall system, but it lies on the Argentina–Brazil border.