LAKE OF LEGEND
The creation of Lake Kariba is the stuff of legend: the engineers building the dam weren't just holding back the waters of the Zambezi River, they were taking on a god.
The river god of the Tonga, Nyami Nyami, had as his home the great rock Kariva, which jutted out of the tumbling waters of a deep gorge. This was the site chosen for the dam, and by the time the mighty Zambezi had settled behind the 128m high wall, at 280km long and 48km wide, the largest volume of water on Earth had been collected by humans. It was named Kariba, after the river god's home.
Some say Nyami Nyami left this world. Others say he guides the water still.
The mineral-rich valley, now inundated, spawned billions of fish. Kapenta, a species introduced from Lake Tanganyika, attracted commercial fishing boats. Tourists in their speedboats and floating houses descended on the lake. Harbours were formed, lodges were raised. People and wildlife settled into a new rhythm. And the fish – razortoothed tigers and chubby bream – became
