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A world heritage site, with its steep cliffs, churning deep waters
and abundant birdlife, the Batoka gorge is a spectacular site to behold.
Forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the gorge is too steep
for much animal life, but birdlife is abundant with one of the most
concentrated populations of avian raptors in the world, including
the rare, African Taita Falcon.
History of the Gorge
2 Million years ago, after much tectonic activity from deep within
the earth’s centre, the ground was forced to rise dramatically,
creating undulating ridges on the earth’s surface. These newly
developed mountains halted the flow of the mighty Limpopo River, creating
a large, natural body of water, which spread over 100 000 square kilometres.
The vast volume of water flowing into this lake rose so high that
it began spilling over into what was left of the Limpopo River catchment
area. Coupled with heavy rains that had fallen in the north and strong
winds from the west, an influx of water reached the lake in the form
of flash flood, creating waves of up to two metres high. These waves
crashed over the crest surrounding the lake and fell into a small
tributary, which rapidly became a raging river and then a thundering
mass of uncontrollable water. The volume of the thundering waters
was so intense, that instead of creating shallow, wide valleys, the
waters cut deep into the rock, creating crevices some kilometres deep.
Thus, the Batoka Gorge was born and at its head, “the smoke
that thunders” - the magnificent Victoria Falls. |
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