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Magnificent landscapes and more

An introduction to Zambia’s geography and foremost landscapes

Land-locked Zambia borders on Angola to the west, the Democratic Republic of Congo in the north, Tanzania in the north east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the south east, whilst Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia’s Caprivi Strip all lie to the south. The Zambezi River rises in northern Zambia and in running its course forms the country’s southern border with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls, located not far from the western tip of Lake Kariba, are surely one of the most spectacular natural wonders in Africa.

For the most part, Zambia is made up of escarpments and savannah. All the escarpments sit at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,400 m and are engagingly different. In the north you’ll find the Great Bangweulu Basin, whose shallow depression lies at the centre of an ancient cratonic platform. The Basin is set off by the Copper Belt escarpment to the south, the extensive Luapula valley to the west, the Mporokoso Mountains to the north and the Muchinga Mountains in the east.

The Luangwa valley runs alongside the Muchinga Mountains, framed by southern Tanzanian escarpments to the north and by the Mafinga Hills to the east. Those Mafinga Hills stretch over into the main escarpment of Malawi. Zambia’s highest peak is the magnificent Mafinga Mountain, 2,300 metres above sea level. Western Zambia, through which the mighty Zambezi runs, is more a flat Kalahari sand area, whose ground that drops gently towards the south; it is only on the steep riverbanks of the Zambezi that any key contours can be observed.

Other major mountain peaks include the Sunzu (2067 m), the Luangwa (1848 m) and the Chimbwingombi at 1788 m. The Zambezi aside, two other significant watercourses are the Luangwa and Kafue Rivers; whilst apart from Kariba, the largest lakes are Lake Mweru, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Bangweulu.