Victoria Falls - History

Victoria Falls defy description. So vast are the Falls and their setting that it is difficult to grasp their true grandeur. Remarkable not only for their extravagant beauty but for the fascinating story they tell of the regions' geology and geomorphology - a story that goes back hundreds of millions of years. Way back in history when the African continent was joined with South America, India, Australia and Antarctica, and was called Gondwanaland. Powerful currents from deep within the earth broke up Gondwanaland and the modern southern hemisphere continental pattern appeared, some 180 million years ago.

The closest place to view the Falls is in the older part of town and earliest houses. Here in the deep hours of the night, loose windows panes will rattle as they tremble at the triumphant song of the Zambezi thundering and tumbling over the Falls on its journey to the sea.

David Livingstone, 1813-73, was a Scottish explorer in Africa. While a medical missionary in what is now Botswana (1841-52), he crossed the Kalahari desert and discovered the Zambezi River. In 1855 he discovered and named Victoria Falls. He set out to seek the source of the Nile in 1866. H.M. Stanley went in search of him, finding him in 1871. Stanley then joined him on a journey (1871-72) to the north end of Lake Tanganyika. Livingstone died in an African village; his body is buried in Westminster Abbey.

David Livingstone did not "discover" Victoria Falls: they had been in place for millions of years, but he did report the existence of the Falls to the outside world. The result was immediate. Visitors and adventurers came to witness for themselves the cascading natural splendour. By the turn of the century many hundreds of Victorians had made the pilgrimage, including wives and children and hoards of servants. The railway, which arrived at Victoria Falls in 1904, did not bridge the river until the following year, when, with a feat of precision engineering, the gap between the two opposing arcs was ceremoniously closed. The railway brought a new flood of visitors to the Falls and the modern tourist era may be said to date from then.