Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
The two white rhinos at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in May 2005
Map showing the location of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
Map showing the location of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
LocationSouthern Province, Zambia
Nearest cityLivingstone
Coordinates17°52′S 25°50′E / 17.867°S 25.833°E / -17.867; 25.833
Area23.4 km2 (9.0 sq mi)[1]
Governing bodyZambia Wildlife Authority
TypeNatural
Criteriavii, viii
Designated1989
Reference no.509
RegionAfrica
Aerial view of the park with a herd of buffalo

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site[2] that is home to one-half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke that Thunders", known worldwide as Victoria Falls—on the Zambezi River. The river forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the falls are shared by the two countries, and the park is twin to the Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwean side.[3]

‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ comes from the Kololo or Lozi language, and the name is now used throughout Zambia and in parts of Zimbabwe.[3]

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park covers 66 km2 (25 sq mi) from the Songwe Gorge below the falls in a north-west arc along about 20 km (12 mi) of the Zambian river bank. It forms the south-western boundary of the city of Livingstone and has two main sections, each with separate entrances: a wildlife park at its north-western end and the land adjacent to the Victoria Falls themselves, which in the rainy season form the world's largest curtain of falling water.[4] It extends downstream from the falls and to the south-east along the Batoka Gorges.[3]