Lake · Zambia, Zimbabwe
Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba is a huge reservoir, a lake made by people, on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is about 223 kilometres long and one of the largest reservoirs in the world.
Picture credit: Joachim Huber (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Sean Ice1 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Kariba?
Countries on its shores: Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Largest body of water of: Zimbabwe.
Middle of the lake: 16.90° S, 28.00° E
The story behind it
Zimbabwe has no natural lake of this size; the largest body of water in the country is this reservoir. The lake formed behind the Kariba Dam, a huge wall across the Zambezi River. The dam started working in 1959, and the lake filled up between 1958 and 1963. It is up to 40 kilometres wide and up to 97 metres deep, and it holds about 180 km³ of water. Many islands lie in the lake, such as Chete Island and Fothergill Island. Nile crocodiles and hippos live in the water, and fish eagles and cormorants hunt for fish. A small sardine-like fish called kapenta was brought here from Lake Tanganyika, and the tigerfish swims here too. In Matusadona National Park on the shore live elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos. Towns on the lake include Kariba in Zimbabwe and Siavonga in Zambia.
Find it on the globe
Lake Kariba is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Lake Kariba?
Lake Kariba covers about 5 580 km² and is about 223 kilometres long. It holds about 180 km³ of water, which makes it one of the largest reservoirs in the world by volume.
How was Lake Kariba made?
People built the Kariba Dam across the Zambezi River. Behind the dam, the river water slowly filled the valley between 1958 and 1963.
Which animals live at Lake Kariba?
Nile crocodiles and hippos live in the water, and fish eagles hunt for fish. In Matusadona National Park on the shore, elephants, lions and rhinos roam.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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