2024

KARIBA DAM

Works of art to see

In this way, the city can be seen as a place where the people of the city can learn about the history of the city and its history, as well as a place where the people of the city can learn about the history of the city and its history. Inaugurated on May 17, 1960 in the presence of the Queen of England, its history is detailed at the entrance, with explanatory panels on the different stages of the construction of this colossal arch. It stretches over 579 m wide and stands 128 m above the Zambezi. A technical feat at the time. Its structure is being reinforced since 2018 and the work should last until 2025, but the drop in water levels due to global warming since 2016 is worrying. At its maximum capacity, 9,000m3 of water rushes through it per second, but from 2019 to 2022 water shortages have tended to reduce its operation. The best view is from the Zimbabwean side, about 2 km from the Zambian post. From there, the landscape offers a striking contrast with, on the one hand, the immensity of the lake that stretches to infinity and, on the other, the dizzying canyon formed by this colossal water retention. Souvenir vendors sell statuettes of Nyaminyami, the river god, here. For those who are interested in the history of the dam, the Eagles Rest Hotel displays in its restaurant some photographs of the different stages of its construction, underlining the technical prowess that this site represented in the 1950s.

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