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Below Victoria Falls, the gradient steepens
sharply, the flow accelerates, rapids rise, and
the river makes a series of sharp turns for
several kilometres (Moore and others 2007).
The river then widens forming the border
between Zambia and Zimbabwe. As it enters
Lake Kariba the river expands dramatically
(UNEP 2010).
Approximately 200 kilometres downstreamof the
Kariba Dam, the Zambezi River enters Mozambique
and flows into Lake Cahora Bassa. Below this, the
gradient levels out again as the river crosses the
coastal plain and is joined by Shire River. Below
the confluence with the Shire River, the Zambezi
crosses another area of floodplains before reaching
the Zambezi delta and emptying into the Indian
Ocean in Mozambique (UNEP 2010).
have seen the area unchanged over the last decades with a predominant Miombo woodland vegetation type. The Miombo woodlands cover
much of central and southern Africa, and are home to about 8 500 plant species, including 300 trees.