Caprivi Strip

views updated

Caprivi Strip (käprē´vē) or Caprivi Zipfel (tsĬp´fəl) [Ger. Zipfel=tip, point], region, c.300 mi (480 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide, NE Namibia, bordered on the N by Angola and Zambia and on the S by Botswana. It is named for the German chancellor Leo, Graf von Caprivi, who obtained it from Great Britain as part of a general settlement (1890) between the two countries. It gave the former German colony of South West Africa (now Namibia) access to the Zambezi River. The region has been the scene of clashes between separatists and government forces, and experienced significant flooding along the Zambezi in 2009.

More From encyclopedia.com