Waterworld Africa episode 6 – Chobe River of Life

Waterworld Africa episode 6 - Chobe River of Life

Waterworld Africa episode 6 – Chobe River of Life: During the dry season in Northern Botswana, over 45,000 elephants, more than 10% of the world’s population, congregate along the banks of the Chobe River. Join local wildlife on a quest to escape the punishing drought.


 

 



Embark on a safari to a diverse and astonishing wilderness, like no other on Earth. From the mangrove forests of southern Africa to the natural abundance of the Okavango Delta, this series is a powerful testament to the amazing ability water has to spark life where none existed before.

 

Waterworld Africa episode 6 – Chobe River of Life

 

The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called the Linyanti River and, farther east, the Chobe River, before it flows into the Zambezi River.

The Cuando rises in the central plateau of Angola on the slopes of Mount Tembo, thence flowing southeast along the Zambian border. Along this reach it flows in a maze of channels in a swampy corridor 5–10 km wide. As with all rivers in south-central Africa its flow varies enormously between the rainy season when it floods and may be several kilometres wide, and the dry season when it may disappear into marshes.

The Cuando continues in its marshy channel across the neck of the Caprivi Strip of Namibia and then forms the border between Namibia and Botswana as it continues southeast. Some 10,014 years ago, the Cuando merged with the Okavango River and they flowed south to Lake Makgadikgadi, but the land in that area was uplifted. As a consequence the Cuando now meets slightly higher ground and breaks up into many channels and swamps (called the Linyanti Swamp) dotted with alluvial islands, nearly disappearing into the Kalahari sands like the Okavango.

But instead it has diverted east and has been captured by the Zambezi. The flow turns sharply east, still forming the border with Botswana. In the dry season there are few open channels through the swamps and marshes. Beginning at this point it is known as the Linyanti, and after it flows through a seasonal lake, Lake Liambesi, it is called the Chobe. The river then flows into the Zambezi just above the Kazungula Ferry.

Tags: , , , ,
Scroll to Top