Photos

Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River as seen from space. The Zambezi flows southeast in a wide bed before plunging suddenly 108 meters over the Victoria Falls into a narrow gorge. The falls and their famous spray clouds are 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long during flood season, the longest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls appear as a ragged white line in this image. The small town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe appears just west of the falls, with smaller tourist facilities on the east bank in Zambia. Image courtesy of NASA.

The Great Dyke in the southern Zimbabwe Craton is one of the most remarkable rock formations in the world. A "craton" is a term geologists use to describe Earth's oldest continental regions. These thick and very hard layers of rock are more than 2 billion years old, and form the cores of most of Earth's continents. Over the millennia, the cratons comprising Earth's landscapes were transported, twisted, folded, eroded, and split by the tremendous geological forces continually reshaping our world's land surfaces. Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, running vertically through the center of this scene, probably formed slowly over centuries, as molten rock forced its way up from the Earth's interior through the Zimbabwe Craton. The dyke stretches about 530 km (330 mi) across the craton and varies from between 3 and 12 km (2 and 7 mi) wide long its length. The dyke is extremely rich in platinum and chromium deposits that support the Zimbabwe economy. This simulated natural color image covers an area of 62 x 39 km (39 x 24 mi). Several burn scars (reddish-brown patches) bruise the landscape in this scene, including the aftermath of a fire that is still burning atop the dyke in this scene. The twin plumes of gray smoke billowing westward mark the location of the fire, situated toward the bottom center of the image. Photo courtesy of NASA.

A closeup of Victoria Falls. The positions of the falls are controlled by linear fault lines in the underlying basalt rocks. The falls have moved upstream (bottom to top) by intense river erosion, elongating the zig-zag gorge in the process. Prior positions of the strongly linear falls can be detected. The earliest on this cropped view may have been the longest (dashed line). The zig-zags represent subsequent positions, all with the characteristic water-worn lip on the upstream side. The falls will continue to erode northward. Image courtesy of NASA.

Another view of Victoria Falls, known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke that Thunders).

Aerial view of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. While the falls are neither the highest nor the widest in the world, during the flood season (February to April) they are the largest, forming the greatest sheet of falling water on earth.

Frolicking lions in a reserve in Harare.

Inquisitive cub in a lion reserve in Harare.

Closeup of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. The falls are 1.7 km (1.1 mi) wide and 108 m (360 ft) high.

Plumes of mist over Victoria Falls.

Some of the cascading waters at Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is located between the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe. During flood season (February to April), the falls form the greatest sheet of falling water on earth. Victoria Falls is 1.7 km (1.1 mi) wide and 108 m (360 ft) high and is known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke that Thunders).

A closer view of Victoria Falls' plunging waters. The falls are located between the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe.