The Lower Zambezi National Park lies on the north bank of the Zambezi River in southeastern Zambia. Until 1983 when the area was declared a national park, the area was the private game reserve of Zambia's president. This meant that the park was protected from mass tourism and now remains one of the few untouched wilderness areas left in Africa. On the opposite bank is Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. The two parks sit on the Zambezi floodplain ringed by mountains. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
The park gently slopes from the Zambezi Escarpment down to the river, straddling two main woodland savannah ecoregions distinguished by the dominant types of tree, Miombo and Mopane: Southern Miombo woodlands on higher ground in the north, and Zambezian and Mopane woodlands on lower slopes in the south. At the edge of the river is a floodplain habitat.
The park itself is ringed by a much larger game management area (commonly referred to as GMA); there are no fences between the park and the GMA and both animals and people are free to roam across the whole area. An attraction of the Lower Zambezi Park and its surrounding GMA is its remote location. There are no paved roads and tourists are unlikely to encounter other tourists. There is an airport with service on Proflight Zambia.[2]
Most large mammals in the national park congregate on the floodplain, including the Cape buffalo, a large elephant population, lion, leopard, many antelope species, crocodile, and hippopotamus. There are occasional sightings of the Cape wild dog. There are also a large number of species of birds.
In 2011, a proposal was made for copper mining to take place within the Lower Zambezi National Park by Mwembeshi Resources Limited and the new mine was named the Kangaluwi Mine,[3] with their application being approved in 2014[3] and mining set to commence in 2023.[4][5] In May 2023, Mwembeshi Resources were ordered to pause mining at the site by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment due to their breaching conditions.[6][7] Conservationists stated that it would negatively affect the tourism industry of the nation as well as the various animal species and the Zambezi River if the mining was to go ahead.[6]
^Ngwenya, Jabulile (2022-07-12). "Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia: World's Greatest Places 2022". Time. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
the Batoka Dam instead. The park is contiguous with Zambia's LowerZambeziNationalPark on the opposite side of the Zambezi River, and the larger UNESCO...
well-formed from a point north of Siavonga going east through the LowerZambeziNationalPark to the Luangwa River. Along this section the bottom of the valley...
Lochinvar NationalPark — a small park south of the Kafue Flats world-famous for bird life and herds of lechwe, one lodge LowerZambeziNationalPark — east...
Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. LowerZambeziNationalPark Website South Luangwa NationalPark Website LowerZambezi Information Resource...
District is home to Zambezi escarpment, which stretches through the LowerzambeziNationalPark. The district is thought to have been the earliest settlement...
Mozambique Kruger NationalPark, South Africa Limpopo NationalPark, Mozambique LowerZambeziNationalPark, Zambia Mana Pools NationalPark, Zimbabwe Matusadona...
when herds are small and calves less protected. Footage from LowerZambeziNationalPark taken in 2021 showed a large pack of wild dogs hunting an adult...
District, Tanzania, Niassa Reserve, Mozambique and the area around LowerZambeziNationalPark, Zambia. Despite historic claims that the victims of Nile crocodile...
reintroduced to Liwonde NationalPark. Since 1989, only a few cheetahs had been recorded at the LowerZambeziNationalPark, despite the area being apparently...
the larger Kafue River, drains into the Zambezi River. "Time + Tide Chongwe Camp in LowerZambeziNationalPark, Zambia". lowerzambezi.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24...
river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is 402 kilometres (250 mi). The upper Shire...
Smoke"; Tonga: Shungu Namutitima, "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species...
II) Kafue NationalPark - 22,480 km² South Luangwa NationalPark - 9,050 km² LowerZambeziNationalPark - 4,092 km² Kasanka NationalPark - 390 km² North...
second largest African river that drains to the Indian Ocean, after the Zambezi River. The first European to sight the river was Vasco da Gama, who anchored...
rate of 320 m3/s through its lower half, with high seasonal variations. The river discharges 10 km3 per year into the Zambezi River. The Kafue River rises...
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