OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

3.22 The Chamabonda sub-catchment
3.22.1 General description
3.22.1.1 Hydrology
This is Zone Z1 of Area A (ZSG, 1984), located in the extreme northwest of Zimbabwe (Figure 3.2). The
catchment zone comprises a series of small, ephemeral rivers that flow into the Zambezi shortly above or
shortly below Victoria Falls. The largest river is the Chamabonda Vlei.
3.22.1.2 Geology
The Upper Karoo Batoka Basalt Formation underlies the catchment, covered in some areas by Kalahari Sands
(Figure 3.6; ZGS, 1999).
3.22.1.3 Pedology, agriculture and land use
The soils are in two groups: the Kalahari Sands and very shallow, gravelly soils overlying the basalts (DRSS,
1979). It lies within Natural Regions IV and V: fairly low and unreliable rainfall under 650mm per annum (ZSG,
1997; Surveyor General and AGRITEX, 1998). The predominance of Kalahari Sands makes the area generally
unsuitable for agriculture. Land use is largely Parks & Wildlife Land and Forestry Commission Land38, with
sparsely populated Communal Land in the east and a few private farms, some devoted to the tourist industry,
along the railway line (ZSG, 1998).
3.22.1.4 Surface water users
38 Zambezi National Park, Victoria Falls National Park, Matetsi Safari Area and Panda Masuie Forest Land
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