Zambezi two largest left-hand tributaries of the Zambezi. The Kafue joins the main river in a quiet deep stream about wide. From this point the northward bend of the Zambezi is checked and the stream continues due east. At the confluence of the Luangwa (15°37' S) it enters Mozambique. The middle Zambezi ends where the river enters Lake Cahora Bassa (also spelled Cabora Bassa). Formerly the site of dangerous rapids known as Kebrabassa, the lake was created in 1974 by the construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam. The lower Zambezi's 650 km from Cahora Bassa to the Indian Ocean is navigable,
Zambezi tributary of the Shire River in the East African Rift's southern extension through Malawi eroded a deep valley on its western escarpment. At the rate of a few cm per year, this river, the Middle Zambezi, started cutting back the bed of its river towards the west, aided by grabens (rift valleys) forming along its course in an east-west axis. As it did so it captured a number of south-flowing rivers such as the Luangwa and Kafue. Eventually the large lake trapped at Makgadikgadi (or a tributary of it) was captured by the Middle Zambezi cutting back towards it, and