Itezhi-Tezhi is a small town in the northwestern part of Southern Province, Zambia

Southern Province, Zambia

Southern Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya , shared with Zimbabwe...

. It lies west of the town of Namwala

Namwala

Namwala is a town and seat of Namwala District in Southern Province of Zambia. Namwala town has a population of over 5,000 people. It lies on the southern bank of the Kafue River at 996 metres above sea level. It houses the administrative offices of Namwala District and is the principal town of the...

.

Itezhi-Tezhi came into existence when the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam

Itezhi-Tezhi Dam

The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam on the Kafue River in west-central Zambia was built between 1974 and 1977 at the Itezhi-Tezhi Gap, in a range of hills through which the river had eroded a narrow valley, leading to the broad expanse of the wetlands known as the Kafue Flats...

 was constructed on the Kafue River

Kafue River

The Kafue River sustains one of the world's great wildlife environments. It is a major tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the most urban, and the longest and largest lying wholly within Zambia....

 in the early 1970s. The dam was created to hold and regulate the water flow in the river for Kafue Gorge Power Station, downstream.

The town's estimated population is 4,000. The largest employer in the town is the electricity company ZESCO.