Mystery Photo 10

     Didn't see anyone gutsy enough to guess at these waterfalls. Well, I will tell you. The first two photos are from Victoria Falls located between Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Africa. These falls are unusual in that the very broad Zambezi River falls into a narrow gorge that runs at right angles to the river above the falls. This creates a falls that can not be viewed well in its entirety, except by looking up the length of the falls. Such a view obscures some of the sections of water because they are behind rock outcroppings. But this structure also allows the viewer to be quite close to the falls. We visited in the dry season. In the wet season, the falls would not even be visible so close up. There would just be clouds of mist and a deep thrumming in your chest as you felt the power of the water falling into the gorge.
     The 3rd and 4th photos are of Iguasu Falls in South America, located between Argentina and Brazil on the Iguasu River which forms a border between these two countries. The name Iguasu means "big water" and indeed it is a big waterfalls, stretching for 1.7 miles. Along that broad cliff, there are many small islands that divide the falls into 275 individual falls. But about half the water flow goes over a horseshoe shaped falls called the Devil's Throat. Each side of this large cataract can be viewed from each country, Argentina and Brazil. Some of the areas of falls are two tiered or even three tiered. The gorge broadens and boats can be taken from below up to the bottom of the falls. It is notable that when Eleanor Roosevelt visited Iguasu she was noted to remark, "Oh, poor Niagara!"
     The 5th and 6th photos are of Niagara. We are probably all more familiar with this falls, on the Niagara River on the border between New York State, and Canada. Of course we know that the Canadian side of the falls, the Horseshoe Falls is the larger separated from the American Falls by Goat Island which belongs to the US. The gorge for Niagara Falls is very broad and very large, such that quite large tour boats can be taken to the base of the falls. Further downstream on the Niagara River there are other sites including a large whirlpool over which one can ride in a cable car.
     There are taller waterfalls than these three in the world, but most are much smaller in breadth and often more wispy. I believe these three falls to be the most magnificent in the world. Put them on your "Bucket List" to see before you leave this earth.

New blog: Check it out!

I have posted new photos on my other blog at www.aarp.org/community/renrae

That blog contains my birding journals. I am currently taking two weekly bird walks at either Havenswood State Forest, in Milwaukee, WI or at Kletsch Park along the Milwaukee River in Glendale. This is the first year that I have followed the spring migration weekly. It is interesting to note the chronology of bird arrivals.

My husband's photo of Iguasu Falls in Argentina (above) got bookmarked by the communityhost of AARP blog site.

Among my world wide travel photos at that site, the elephant photo got the most hits, nearly twice as many as any of the other photos in that album. I wonder why! I have a whole series of elephant photos leading up to this one. Perhaps I should locate the whole series on the aarp site. Check it out and let me know if you want to see more of these anatomically correct photos. Interestingly, our guide told us that these two elephants were both males, because they were in a herd of young males, traveling together. Females and their offspring are in other herds and a male and female only is together long enough to mate. This photo raises a question about that or else young male elephants are like dolphins and humans.