The Great Rift Africa

The Great Rift
Africa's Greatest Story
BBC, 2010

EXCERPTS:


Part. 1

(Volcanoes)

"Rising to the east of the Great Rift Valley,
snow-capped KILIMANJOR towers nearly four miles high.
It's Africa's loftiest peak and the tallest free-standing volcano on earth.

KILIMANJARO and ERTA ALE are just two links in a long chain of volcanoes.

In fact, all the mountains along the rift are volanic, born deep beneath the earth's surface."


40 miles west of MOUNT KENYA,
the ALBERDARES MOUNTAINS are the legacy of an older volcano 
thats been severly eroded, but still towers over 2 1/2 miles high.
MOUNT SUSWA
OL DOINYO LENGAI, Tanzanias most Active Volcano


"As volcanic ash breaks down,
it creates a dense, fertile soil which is hard for tree roots to penetrate
but is perfect for grass.


Kitulo Plateau, known locally God's Garden, Southern Tanzania
floral displays,
Monkey Beetle, hairy-coated living fossils.
Widow Bird.


"Mount Rungwe's Forest are home to unique creatures."
The area has recently become the focus for scientific research
and new species are being discovered all the time..
This is a Kipunji, first discovered in 2005 and never filmed before."

It looks like monkey but its DNA is similar to baboons.
its already on the verge of extinction, 1000 left.
VIRUNGAS NATIONAL PARK
Mountain Gorillas.


"in this turbulent landscape,
volcanic fire has proved to be less a destroyer,
but more a creator of new life.


'Justine's perseverance has revealed for the first time
the underground behavior of these unique baboons.

"I've never seen a baboon sleeping" a Masai says.

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Part. 2
(Water)

Upstream, the Zambezi slices through the volcanic rocks of the Tonga Plateau to crash down into the narrow Batoka Gorge.

More than a mile wide, with up to 10,000 tonnes of water pouring over its lip every second,
this is the world's largest waterfall.

Its local name, "Mosi-oa-Tunya",
translates as the "Smoke That Thunders".

In 1855, David Livingstone renamed them Victoria Falls
in honour of his queen.
Lake Natron, lake of death, they can dissolve the human skin.


Immediately north of Lake Assal is the Mandab Strait, known to Arabs as the Gate of Tears.
It separates Africa from Arabia and marks the junction of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
(which according to Alice Roberts in Incredibly Human Journey was the acutal gate of human migration out of Africa.)


"Those (volcanic) forces are tearing Africa and Arabia apart.
As the Great Rift lengthens and widens, the Red Sea will eventually join up with the Mediterranean, making Africa the world's larges island.

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Part. 3
(Grass)

"Grass, unlike other plants grows from its roots instead of the tip.
This gives it astonishing powers of regeneration.
It also means it can be almost constantly cropped - a never-ending supply of food.

But there is a downside.
Grass is hard to process, so grazers have to consume vast amounts.
That means big guts, and big guts need a big body.
A diet of grass also means eating for upto 16 hours per day,
and that leaves little time for the other important tasks.


"In a fair chase, the cheetah has a 50/50 chance of catching a meal -
the highest success rate of all the African big cats."


"Chimpanzees are still poorly adapted for savanna life.
Their bodies are too squat to see over the long grass,
and their limbs aren't built for speed like an antelope that can outrun predators.


"But like humans today, our ancestors walked tall on two legs
and had hands free to carry weapons for hunting and defence.
More meat in our diet meant our brains expanded
and our societies grew ever more complex and powerful.
In time, we became masters of the savanna."

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