Why did the falls form where they did?

The river eroded cracks filled with softer rock

Why is the Batoka Gorge shaped like a zigzag?

Each bend is an old waterfall line

Victoria Falls Geology Quiz: Basalt Gorges and Zigzag Cliffs

This Victoria Falls geology quiz explains how lava, cracks and a mighty river shaped one of Earth's greatest waterfalls. Play 10 interactive questions on Karoo basalt, joints filled with softer rock, the zigzag Batoka Gorge, old waterfall lines, the falls' slow retreat, the spray and the name Mosi-oa-Tunya.

Start Victoria Falls Geology Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

River
Which river forms Victoria Falls?
Border
Which two countries share the falls?
Rock
What rock does the river flow over?
Age
Roughly how old are the basalt lava flows?
Cracks
Why did the falls form where they did?
Zigzag
Why is the Batoka Gorge shaped like a zigzag?
Old
About how many earlier fall lines have the gorges recorded?
Width
About how wide is the curtain of water?
Drop
About how far does the water fall?
Name
What does Mosi-oa-Tunya mean?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which river forms Victoria Falls?
Answer: The Zambezi
It flows to the Indian Ocean.
Q2: Which two countries share the falls?
Answer: Zambia and Zimbabwe
A bridge links them.
Q3: What rock does the river flow over?
Answer: Basalt
It formed from ancient lava.
Q4: Roughly how old are the basalt lava flows?
Answer: About 180 million years
They are part of the Karoo volcanic event.
Q5: Why did the falls form where they did?
Answer: The river eroded cracks filled with softer rock
Weak zones wear away faster.
Q6: Why is the Batoka Gorge shaped like a zigzag?
Answer: Each bend is an old waterfall line
The falls have moved over time.
Q7: About how many earlier fall lines have the gorges recorded?
Answer: Seven or eight
The falls keep cutting upstream.
Q8: About how wide is the curtain of water?
Answer: About 1.7 kilometers
It is among the widest falls.
Q9: About how far does the water fall?
Answer: About 108 meters
Spray rises much higher.
Q10: What does Mosi-oa-Tunya mean?
Answer: The smoke that thunders
It is a local name for the falls.

Victoria Falls Geology Quiz – Basalt Gorges and Zigzag Cliffs

Victoria Falls lies on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The river crosses a plateau of basalt formed by huge lava flows about 180 million years ago.

As the lava cooled it cracked, and some cracks filled with softer material. The Zambezi wears these weak zones away, plunging about 108 meters into a deep slot across a curtain about 1.7 kilometers wide.

Over time the falls move upstream to a new crack, leaving the zigzag Batoka Gorge downstream. Each bend marks an old fall line, and spray rising from the gorge gave the falls the name Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders.

What This Quiz Teaches

Earth science fans will enjoy these questions.

Which river forms the falls
Which rock it crosses
How the gorges formed
How big the falls are
What its name means

Did You Know?

Devil's Pool sits on the lip of the falls in the dry season.
Moonbows can appear in the spray at full moon.
David Livingstone named the falls in 1855.
Flow peaks after the rainy season.
The falls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.