page_title: Victoria Falls
section_title: Name origins
hierarchical_section_title: Victoria Falls / Name origins
caption_attribution_description: Livingstone statue, Victoria Falls, Zambia - 15 September 2010
context_page_description: Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is considered to be one of the world's largest waterfalls due to its width of 1,708 metres.
context_section_description: David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855, from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls near the Zambian shore. Livingstone named his sighting in honor of Queen Victoria of Britain, but the Sotho language name, Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke That Thunders"—continues in common usage. The World Heritage List officially recognises both names.  Livingstone also cited an older name, Seongo or Chongwe, which means "The Place of the Rainbow", as a result of the constant spray.
  The nearby national park in Zambia is named Mosi-oa-Tunya, whereas the national park and town on  the Zimbabwean shore are both named Victoria Falls.
caption: David Livingston looking at the Victoria falls
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 550D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2013:10:03 21:06:32", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1054", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5874", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:09:15 11:44:12", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:09:15 11:44:12", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6", "EXIF ApertureValue": "61/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "90", "EXIF SubSecTime": "78", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "78", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "78", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "691200/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}