No doubt about it; the Victoria Falls are amazing! The sheer immensity of this curtain of thundering water gives one a sensory smorgasbord. So why are they here? How did they come to be? How long have they been here? To answer these questions, an understanding of the geology of Victoria Falls is in order.
Helicopter view of Victoria Falls
A few years ago (some 180 million of them) this area bordering Zimbabwe and Zambia was quite the happening place, with volcanoes spewing lava over quite an extensive area (about 50,000 sq. km or 19,000 sq. mi.) and for a long time (roughly 1 million years). This resulted in a 300m (1000 ft) thick layer of hard basalt (most common form of lava) spread across the region.
Breaking Up is Hard To Do
About 110 million years ago a remarkable phenomenon began. The super continent, Gondwana, started breaking up into the continents we know today. All this shaking and moving created deep cracks in the thick, brittle basalt rock. Over the millennia, the cracks were filled with soft clay-like sediments.
Geology of Victoria Falls – the beginning
Some 15 million years ago a major tectonic uplift occurred in central Zimbabwe, which caused major changes to the river systems and created a giant lake, perhaps even larger than Lake Victoria (almost 70,000 sq. km or 27,000 sq. mi. in size).
Further geological activity around 5 million years ago resulted in the giant lake spilling over, allowing the upper and lower Zambezi Rivers to connect.
Timeline of the Zambezi River
Let There Be Falls
As the new river water flowed across the hard basalt, it encountered the soft sedimentary rock within the deep cracks. These sediments began eroding away creating deep gorges and the formation of the ‘first’ Victoria Falls.
As the geology of Victoria Falls progressed, continuous erosion of the softer sedimentary rock over the millennia resulted in a series of Victoria Falls being created. The current falls are actually the eighth incarnation of Victoria Falls, which formed some 100 thousand years ago.
Victoria Falls on the move – geologically speaking
In the video below, on the far left side facing the falls, you can see the potential for a new gorge forming. Perhaps the start of the ninth version of Victoria Falls which will be even wider than the current falls.
Don’t hold your breath on this event however as the gorge is eroding at about 7 cm per year.
I was so intrigued by the sheer magnitude of the Victoria Falls, I wanted to know how they came to be. I promptly informed Sue I would write a post to share the fascinating geological history. Hope you enjoyed this journey through time.
Dave (Hubby)
Have you seen any interesting geology in your travels?
Amazing geology! The Earth is ever changing.
Agreed! Amazing to see the dynamic nature of our world!
Very interesting, Dave. Thanks for sharing your research.
My pleasure Darlene. Hopefully not to ‘text-bookish” 🙂
Dave, you are a great writer. Thank you for sharing the fascinating information about these falls.
Thanks so much! It was fun and intriguing researching these falls
An utter delight to read about the evolution of the Falls, Dave. Great graphics too, and an interesting fact that the falls are on their eight incarnation and continue changing. The video really added an extra punch. You did a great job of sharing this wonder of the world.
Thank you so much Jet. It was fun creating the graphics to help tell the story. It was also a great exercise creating the video with dynamic text on it! So glad you enjoyed it!
I had the feeling that was your video. My thought was “yikes” for how open-aired it was at that height. Much enjoyed~~
The helicopter actually had windows we could open with the understanding not to stick anything out of the helicopter
So fascinating! When we see natural wonders of that magnitude, we just have to find out how they came to be. (Or at least you and I do!) I have always been intrigued by the breaking up of the supercontinent, and stuff like this is one of the main reasons. Thanks for sharing your research!
Agreed, so fascinating! Yes, I was surprised at the reason why the falls were created went so far back to the days of the super continent.
Thank you so much for the wonderful information of this fascinating falls, Dave! Thank you for the video, what an incredible view, Wow!!
You’re very welcome Amy. It was fun researching the origins of these falls. The helicopter tour we took was absolutely breathtaking, as the video hints 🙂
Great post, Dave. Victoria Falls is a really magnificent sight to see. So happy you and Sue made it over there. 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m also so happy Sue talked me into taking this “side” trip while in Africa 🙂
I guess that once Sue had decided you needed to go there, your visit was a no-brainer. 😀
Well, we did have to decide what to have for a drink once we reached our hotel. So not a complete no-brainer 🙂
You just can’t beat Mother Nature for art and architecture! 😀
So absolutely true!!
Very interesting, Dave. I would have been surprised if Sue wrote the post, based on her dislike of research. 🙂 Thanks for posting that map of Gondwana. Up til now, I only imagined how it would look like when all the continents fit together. Every time I see my massive world map on the wall of my childhood room in Belgium, I imagine all the continents being attached. This reveals part of that ancient continent.
Thanks Liesbet! This type of research definitely isn’t Sue’s favourite hobby. I was afraid it would seem like a text book article. I also loved how the modern day continents fit so well together like a jigsaw puzzle.
I had no idea Lake Victoria was SOOOOO huge! The aerial view of the falls is just spectacular. I’m imagining the noise was mind-blowing!!
I was also surprised at the size of Lake Victoria. And, yes the falls were so loud you could hear them over the helicopter noise during the flight!
Wow! I like the deep crevasses that look like fingers. What a magical territory!
Very cool! Thanks for the interesting geology lesson. I am impressed that you take such an interest in the places you visit. Well done!
Thanks Alison! And I’m not even a geologist 🙂 When I saw the magnitude of these falls I just needed to know how they came to be. It was very intriguing! I asked a few locals, but no one seemed to know the full story.
It’s quite incredible when you think about it, isn’t it, Dave? Our crazy, wonderful world. 🙂 🙂 Water… now that’s a sensitive subject with me and your missus. 🙂 Thanks for the geology lesson.
Incredible is right! I’ll have to ask Sue about the sensitivity to water :). It was fun researching the geo-history!
Interesting to see the map of Gondwana, Brazil fitted nicely in that West corner of Africa, fascinating Geology lesson. I must show your article to my son who is currently doing a Geology Masters at Imperial College in London. Our planet truly is awesome. Thank you for the video, the thundering noise of the falls must have been impressive?
Yikes, now I’m feeling the pressure of a real geologist reviewing this. Tell him to be kind :). The video gives an indication how great the helicopter ride was. A must do if in the area! And yes, the thundering sound of the falls is amazing!!
Dave
Perhaps you are also familiar with the Dry Falls not too far south of Calgary. It is a 3.5 mile-long former waterfall in the state of Washington along the Grand Coulee of the Columbia river which dates to an ice age and once was enormous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_Falls
We visited the area in 1999.
Wow. That’s amazing! Given the size of Niagara and Victoria Falls, this dry one would have been beyond comprehension! 20 times the flow! Amazing!
A most interesting post… It is great to learn more about the origins of these Falls and how the morphology and mega structures of tectonic plate movements have given birth to them.
Thank you so much for sharing dear Sue. Wishing you a beautiful weekend! 😀 <3
Thank you Aquileana. I talked Sue into letting me do this post, so that’s why its a bit more like a textbook than Sue’s usual banter :). It definitely was fascinating to research the origins of these falls. Perhaps the Iguazu Next 🙂
Dave (Hubby)
Informative and impressive Dave! Great job!
Thank you so much Shirley!
Dave (Hubby)
Dave this was such an informative post. Isn’t the world an amazing place? It blows my mind to think how long the earth has been forming and how very young humans are in the big picture.
Last year we visited Kings Canyon in central Australia. It’s tiny compared to others in the world but learning about how it was formed by wind and water was fascinating. Thank you for an insightful post.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, its a bit humbling to realise the time it takes for these magnificent wonders to be created.
Dave (Hubby)
It’s interesting how we were all once joined together. The photos from the previous post could so easily be Australia.
Its somewhat mind-blowing to think all the continents were joined way back when. And you’re right, each place has its uniqueness, but we also see the similarities.
Dave (Hubby)
The Victoria Falls are so picturesque and amazing, Sue! This post was a great read!
So true Agness. The Victoria Falls are truly amazing. So glad you enjoyed the post!
Dave (Hubby)
How cool! Geology has always fascinated me. And that 7 cm per year is really pretty amazing when you consider that it’s only water running over rock. The falls must be spectacular “in person”!
Yes, the falls are incredible to see. When you see the power of them, it becomes more realistic to think of the erosion that is constantly taking place!
Dave (Hubby)
Thanks for the wonderful walk through time. Loved learning how those spectacular falls came to be.
You’re very welcome LuAnn. I too enjoyed learning how these magnificent falls came to be.
Dave (Hubby)
Thanks for all this interesting information! I really enjoyed reading about this.
Did you go to Zambia by chance? Meant to be gorgeous.
Peta
So glad you enjoyed the post Peta. Yes, we did venture to the Zambian side of the Falls (that’s as far as we got in Zambia). That’s another story to tell 🙂
My mind is kind of like yours, Dave….when I see something like this, I want to know how it was formed….great explanation…With these pics and the ones you guys have already shared…hard to wrap ones head around the sheer magnitude of the falls…thanks!!
Thanks Kirt. So much appreciated. Yes, even thinking back on what we saw at Victoria Falls still gets me awestruck!
Great stuff Dave. This is a good, simple explanation, and your graphics make it much easier to understand. I’m sure that you ran into this term in your research, but when rocks of different hardness erode at different rates it’s called differential erosion. As rock climbers, whenever you and Sue cling to an overhang, it’s because the top layer is harder and more resistant to erosion than the lower layer. You need to let that closet geologist out more often. ~James
Well said James! Yes, I think I can be defined as a simple closet geologist. :). And with respect to rock climbing, I always hoped the overhang I was reaching for was made of hard (solid) rock!
I always think learning about the history of the earth from the actual earth itself is interesting.
How true!! Well said!
Quite enjoyed that, great explanation!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the story. It was fun to research!
The video looks so cool (I thought it was taken using drone 🙂 ). Thank you for the explanation – what an amazing world we live in!
Thank you Indah. And yes, the falls help making the world amazing 🙂
Oh, this interesting! Thank You expanding our knowledge.
You are very welcome! Thank you for reading the story:)
Wonderful to see you post Dave. And you come out with a big one. I can’t wait to go to Victoria Falls after seeing it through your eyes and . Fascinating history. Great video. Mother nature never disappoints!
interesting 🙂
Agreed! An interesting part of the world.
This was extremely interesting reading! I have been at these wonderful falls countless times, but had never learned about their geological history!
Thank you Tiny. I became very curious right from the first view of the falls as to how they got there in the first place.
You crack me up! Geologically speaking of course 😉 This was a great perspective on the creation of Victoria Falls
OK Gabe, now that’s hilarious! I tried to make the story as entertaining as I could. Glad you enjoyed!
Dave, this is incredible. And so fascinating to see where the falls have been and where it is headed. 🙂
Thanks Carl. Yes, I was so intrigued by the creation and development of these amazing falls!
It is so interesting to hear how the Zambezi River came to be, and hence Victoria Falls. The Earth is always changing and moving all the time. Who knows what we will see next…. It is something I hope to see for my self some day and I will probably gape in awe. Thanks for sharing, Dave. And hi to Sue if she’s lurking around 🙂
Mabel, thank you so much for your kind comments. Hopefully so will get the chance one day to see this natural world wonder. Sue’s on the road right now to visit her Mom, but she’ll be checking the blog soon enough! 🙂
Oh this is fascinating! I’ve learnt a lot of new things! It’s always so interesting to learn about the geology of a place and I love to do that as well whenever I visit a new location!
So glad you found this fascinating. Sounds like we’re on the same page with curiosity!
Especially when it has to do with nature, animals and geology! I always love to learn more about the places I visit 🙂
Agreed!
Absolutely fascinating! 🙂 I love learning the story behind the places I travel too. I cant wait to see the Victoria Falls, I bet it was one of the most breath taking things to experience.
So glad you enjoyed the story Anna. You will absolutely love the Victoria Falls (especially at high water). It truly is breathtaking!
Dave (Hubby)
Oh, looks like I missed my chance to see the second falls (by a couple of million years or something). They must have been even more breathtaking than the present ones.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for all the great information! Would you be able to point me towards where you got all the ages/geomorphology information from? I’m keen to read up on it!
Many thanks,
Victoria
Victoria (quite an apt name). The information I gathered was from multiple online sources. I searched for things like “geology of Victoria Falls”, “Gondwana”, “geology of Zambezi River”. I then stitched together the info I found and cross referenced info for accuracy. So basically a mix of different info sources.