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Lusaka

Capital of ZambiaHigh on the central plateau of south-central Zambia, about 1,280 m above sea level, Lusaka has no major rivers and few streams, because rainwater drains into the limestone underground.

Why it's the capital

In 1929 the British decided to move the capital of Northern Rhodesia from Livingstone to a more central place. They chose Lusaka because it was on the railway and at the crossroads of the Great North Road and the Great East Road. It stayed the capital when Zambia became independent in 1964.

Fun facts

  1. The city is named after Lusaaka, the chief of a nearby Lenje village, and it began in 1905 as a water stop on the new railway.
  2. Cairo Road, the main street of the city centre, got its name because it was planned to be part of a road running the length of Africa, from the Cape to Cairo.
  3. Lusaka formally became the capital in May 1935, when a special train moved all the government officials from Livingstone to Lusaka in a single weekend.

Finding it on the globe

Find Lake Kariba, the long lake on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lusaka is a short way north of the lake's northeastern end, where the Kariba Dam is.

Sources: Wikipedia: Lusaka, Wikipedia: Lake Kariba