Victoria Falls Facts: Zambia or Zimbabwe, Height & Location

Victoria Falls lies on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the waterfall is in both countries rather than belonging to only one side.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Country: Zimbabwe
Coordinates: 17.9248° S, 25.8581° E
Countries: Zambia and Zimbabwe
River: Zambezi River
Width: About 1,708 m

Short answer

Is Victoria Falls in Zambia or Zimbabwe?

Victoria Falls lies on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the waterfall is in both countries rather than belonging to only one side.

The falls form a curtain about 1,708 m wide and reach a maximum height of about 108 m. They are protected as the transboundary Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Countries: Zambia and Zimbabwe

River: Zambezi River

Width: About 1,708 m

Maximum height: About 108 m

Local name: Mosi-oa-Tunya, commonly translated as The Smoke That Thunders

Recognition: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Victoria Falls overview

Victoria Falls is a large waterfall on the Zambezi River situated at the international boundary between Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is significant as a major geomorphological landmark and as a cultural symbol for communities in the region. The principal vertical drop reaches approximately 108 metres, producing a continuous curtain of falling water across multiple channels. This combination of measurable height and distinctive geological setting underpins its prominence in Southern African geography and research.

Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border

Victoria Falls should be understood as one transboundary waterfall, not as separate Zambia and Zimbabwe waterfalls. Zambia provides access from Livingstone, while Zimbabwe provides access from the town of Victoria Falls.

Combining both sides on one reference page gives the clearest answer to the most common location question and avoids treating the same natural feature as competing entities.

Victoria Falls coordinates

Victoria Falls is commonly mapped at approximately 17.9248° S, 25.8581° E, or -17.9248, 25.8581 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 17.9248° S, 25.8581° E

Decimal: -17.9248, 25.8581

Where Victoria Falls is located

Victoria Falls lies in the northwestern part of Zimbabwe within Matabeleland North Province near the town that shares its name. The site occupies the Zambezi River where it flows along a basalt plateau immediately above the Batoka Gorge. Administratively the surrounding area is managed under national park jurisdiction on the Zimbabwe side and is adjacent to municipal authorities for the town. Location references commonly describe the falls as occupying a strategic river crossing upstream of a sequence of deep downstream gorges.

Why Victoria Falls is important

Victoria Falls matters for multiple reasons including cultural, scientific, and ecological significance for the region. Culturally it functions as an important landmark in local narratives and as a symbol in regional identity. Scientifically the falls serve as a reference site for studies of river incision, gorge formation, and waterfall dynamics in basalt-hosted landscapes. Ecologically the presence of continual spray creates distinct moisture-dependent habitats that differ markedly from surrounding vegetation, giving the site ongoing research and conservation interest.

History of Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls originated through progressive erosion as the Zambezi River exploited fractures in a basalt plateau, retreating headward and forming successive gorges downstream. This geological evolution took place over extended timescales as the river incised through layered volcanic rocks and structural joints. Human associations with the falls extend back into pre-colonial periods, with indigenous communities incorporating the site into cultural practices and human history. Nineteenth-century European explorers documented the waterfall during continental exploration, and subsequent colonial-era mapping integrated the site into regional administrative frameworks. Over the long term the falls have attracted sustained scientific investigation and institutional management.

Natural features of Victoria Falls

The physical features of Victoria Falls comprise a wide, segmented curtain of water that flows over a fractured basalt escarpment into a deep downstream gorge system. At the brink the river divides around rocky islands and ledges, producing multiple cataracts that together create a largely continuous sheet of falling water during higher discharges. Basalt bedrock exhibits jointing and columnar structures that control the positions of channels and the pattern of lateral retreat. Downstream gorges display steep cliffs and stepped channels that reflect episodic collapse and river re-routing after headward erosion, while persistent spray modifies rock weathering and cliff-edge vegetation.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Victoria Falls

The Zimbabwean flank of Victoria Falls is managed within Victoria Falls National Park under the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, while the opposite bank is part of Zambia’s protected landscape. Conservation management emphasizes protection of riverine habitats, monitoring of invasive species, and assessment of upstream hydrological influences on spray-dependent ecosystems. Long-term stewardship relies on coordinated transboundary efforts, park governance structures, and scientific monitoring programs that inform adaptive management and biodiversity conservation strategies without focusing on visitor access.

Victoria Falls facts

Explorer David Livingstone was the first European recorded to have viewed Victoria Falls and he gave the waterfall an English name honoring Queen Victoria.
The falls are located at approximately 17°55′S 25°51′E where the Zambezi drops from a basalt plateau into a sequence of gorges.
In the Tonga language the falls are called "Mosi-oa-Tunya", a phrase commonly translated as "The Smoke That Thunders".
Measured across its crestline during higher river flows, the falls present one of the widest continuous sheets of falling water found globally.
UNESCO inscribed the site under the joint title "Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls" on its World Heritage List in recognition of its geological and ecological values.

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