Caprivi Strip

Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint.

Of particular interest to the government of Namibia is that it gives access to the Zambezi River and is thereby a potential trading route to Africa's East Coast.

However, the vagaries of the river level, various rapids, the presence of the Victoria Falls downstream and continued political uncertainty in the region have made such use of the Caprivi Strip difficult.

[citation needed] Within Namibia the Caprivi Strip provides significant habitat for the critically endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).

[1] The transfer of territory was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.

After a mineral expedition in 1909 proved unsuccessful, Germany contemplated exchanging the strip for some other British territory, such as Walvis Bay.

[1] In 1976, the South African administration established the self-governing Eastern Caprivi homeland with its own flag, national anthem, and coat of arms.

[8] In the late 20th century, the Caprivi Strip attracted attention when Namibia and Botswana took a long-standing dispute over its southern boundary to the International Court of Justice.

The core of the territorial dispute concerned which channel of the Chobe River was the thalweg, the bona fide international boundary.