Cahora Bassa Reservoir, Artificial lake in Tete Province, Mozambique.

The Cahora Bassa Reservoir stretches 292 kilometers along the Zambezi River and covers an area of 2,739 square kilometers with an average depth of 21 meters. The impounded water sits in a broad valley between rocky hills and forms many inlets and smaller arms.

Portugal began building the dam in 1969 and completed the reservoir in 1974, shortly before the end of colonial rule. The flooding fundamentally changed the landscape and made large areas along the river inaccessible.

The name derives from Nyungwe Kahoura-Bassa, meaning "finish the job", rendered in Portuguese colonial times as Cabora Bassa. The reservoir lies in Tete Province, where the Zambezi was once blocked by the Kebrabasa rapids. Since the dam closed, the river's flow has been regulated, yet floods still occur, as in 1978 and 2000.

Visitors should prepare for rough terrain and limited access to many parts of the shoreline. Boats often provide the best way to move across the water and reach remote inlets.

The reservoir's name comes from Nyungwe Kahoura-Bassa, meaning "finish the job". During the independence struggle, Frelimo guerrillas attacked dam construction materials because the completed lake would widen the Zambezi so much that crossing by canoe would take very long.