The Zambezi is a great river in the south of Africa — the fourth longest on the whole continent, running about 2,500 kilometres from its start in Zambia, east across the land, and out into the Indian Ocean through Mozambique. For part of its journey it forms the border between Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the south, so the river is a line on the map as well as water. Two things on the Zambezi are world famous. One is Victoria Falls, an enormous waterfall where the whole river drops into a narrow crack in the rock; the local name for it means "the smoke that thunders", because you can see the spray from far away. The other is the Kariba Dam, which holds back the river to make electricity and created one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. The river is also known for hippos and crocodiles, and for tourists who go rafting below the falls. In English you almost always say THE Zambezi, with "the" in front, as with the Nile and the Thames. It can be used alone or as a describing word before another noun: the Zambezi valley, the Zambezi river.