Murchison Falls

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Murchison Falls, also called Kabalega Falls, is a waterfall in Uganda, at the point where the Nile runs into Lake Albert. At the top, the whole river is forced through a gap in the rock only about 7 metres (23 feet) wide, and it then tumbles 43 metres (141 feet).

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At a glance

Country: Uganda
Location: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
Height: 43 m
Type: Waterfall

Quick answers

Where is Murchison Falls?

Murchison Falls is in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda.

How tall is Murchison Falls?

Murchison Falls is about 43 m tall.

Here the entire Nile forces itself through a 7-metre gap in the rock, making a thunderous waterfall.

The water that arrives here is the outflow of Lake Victoria, roughly 300 cubic metres every second. Squeezed into a gorge less than 10 metres wide, it makes a thunderous roar. The falls give their name to the surrounding Murchison Falls National Park, and they are one of Uganda's most important tourist sights.

Names and explorers

Samuel Baker and Florence Baker were the first Europeans to officially see the falls, and Samuel named them after Roderick Murchison, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Some historians think Roman soldiers sent by Nero may have reached them in 61 AD, but that is strongly disputed. During Idi Amin's rule in the 1970s the name was changed to Kabalega Falls, after King Kabalega of Bunyoro, though this was never made law; the older name returned later and both are still used.

Protecting the falls

In 1954 the writer Ernest Hemingway crashed a plane just downriver from the falls. In August 2019 Uganda rejected a plan to build a hydropower project there, to protect the falls and the tourism that depends on them. The falls are among the most lucrative tourist sights in Uganda, so protecting them also protects many local jobs and the wildlife park around them, where visitors come to see the river, its gorge and the animals along its banks.

Fun facts

The Nile is squeezed through a gap only about 7 metres wide before it drops 43 metres.
About 300 cubic metres of water pass over the falls every second.
Uganda turned down a hydropower project in 2019 so the falls could stay as they are.