Victoria Falls
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Monster (full resolution) image (520 kb)
No photograph can do justice to Victoria Falls,
Mosi-oa-Tunya "the smoke that thunders" in the local
language. The waterfall, where the Zambezi river plunges
more than 100 metres into the first of a series of narrow
gorges, raises a permanent cloud of mist visible from dozens
of kilometres away. Close to the falls the roar is
overwhelming, with lots of low frequency components you
feel rather than hear. Because the falls are at the
start of a series of zig-zag gorges, there is no vantage
point on the ground from which the entire falls can be seen or
photographed. This is a view from the Mosi-oa-Tunya
National Park in Zambia, where you can walk out on the
"Knife Edge" cliff and see the falls close-up. Depending
on the wind, you may only be able to barely glimpse
the falls through the mist. What is absolutely certain is
that you will end up utterly soaking wet from the "mist"
(actually, think torrential rainstorm) when the
wind blows in your direction. Unless you thought to bring
a watertight camera case, your camera should probably spend
most of the time sealed in a plastic bag.
by John Walker
July, 2001
This document is in the public domain.
