Location: Kabarega National Park Map
Height: 130 ft (40 m)
Murchison Falls or Kabarega Falls is one of the largest water falls
on the White Nile river in Kabarega National Park in North- west
Uganda. Murchison Falls reached a height of 130 ft (40 m). Murchison
Falls is a natural geologic formation on the White Nile River
situated between Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga at the northern end of
the Albertine Rift Valley. Area around Murchison Falls is protected
by Murchison Falls National Park. It is first protected game reserve
in Uganda having been established in 1926. Today it houses over 70
species of mammals and over 450 species of various birds.
In
addition to spectacular rash of water of Murchison Falls through a
narrow crevice in the rocks, tourists can also enjoy aquatic
wildlife including hippos, Nile crocodiles and numerous aquatic
birds that come to nest here. Many large game also come here as this
is the only permanent source of water in the region.
The
waterfall was discovered in 1864 by the English traveler Samuel
Baker, who named it Murchison Falls in honor of the distinguished
Scottish geologist Roderick Murchison. In 1972, the waterfall was
renamed Kabarega in honor of the ruler of the state of Unyoro in
1870-1899, the leader of armed resistance to the English invasion,
the national hero of Uganda, Kabareg Chva II.
You are in Murchison Falls National Park between Lake
Albert and Lake Victoria. The main falls consist of a gorge only seven
meters wide, the upper edges of which are overgrown with trees, in which
the Nile falls 42 meters in depth, the secondary falls consist of
several cascades with a maximum depth of 28 m. 300 cubic meters fall
over the falls every second.
Many fish do not survive the fall
over the falls onto the rocks below, so at the base of the falls there
are large numbers of crocodiles, according to (unconfirmed) local
information from the park administration, the largest crocodile
population in Uganda.
Kabalega Falls was the official name of the falls from 1972 to 1990. The name goes back to a decree by the dictator Idi Amin, who wanted to contribute to the Africanization of place names and used the name of Chwa II Kabalega, one of the last kings of Bunyoro. The name was not accepted by the local population, so after the end of the dictatorship the old name Murchison Falls became valid again.
In 1864, Samuel White Baker
and his future wife Florence were the first Europeans to describe the
falls on their voyage of discovery along the White Nile.
Winston
Churchill dedicated an entire chapter to the Murchison Falls in his book
"My African Journey" (1908): "These Falls are certainly the most
remarkable in the whole course of the Nile." )
The falls were
named after Roderick Murchison, chairman of the Geological Society of
London and the Royal Geographical Society.
After the potential destruction of the falls could be averted by the construction of a hydroelectric power plant, the entire region is currently threatened with being affected in the course of oil production.