Now, even those who can't make it to Africa can get an unforgettable look at Victoria Falls.
A new video, courtesy of National Geographic, shows the mighty Zambezi River pounding its way through stunning gorges and canyons, and then rushing over the impressive falls, which lie between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The new video allows viewers to take their own 360-degree trip to the mighty torrent and peer deep into the white water cascading over the falls, wind through the narrow gorges or fly over the seemingly placid pools that feed the falls. In the video, people can be seen wading in the aptly named Devil's Pool, a deceptively calm pool of water that provides a heart-pounding view of the stunning cascade. [Gallery: Wonderful Waterfalls of the World]
Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya, is one of the most spectacular wonders of the natural world. Though it's neither the tallest nor the biggest waterfall in the world by volume (those titles go to Angel Falls in Venezuela and Inga Falls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, respectively), it does boast the single biggest curtain of falling water in the world, according to UNESCO. Every second, 250,000 gallons (950,00 liters) of water plummet over a sheer 355-foot (108 meters) drop into a fathomless pool below. The gentle flow of the Zambezi River makes its breathtaking exit via the falls, winding its way through a series of dramatic gorges.
The falls formed as a result of unique geological factors. The ground in the region was once molten lava, which cracked as it cooled to form the hard basalt rock. However, the fissures themselves are filled with relatively softer sandstone. In this area, several large east-west cracks are intersected by smaller cracks oriented in the north-south direction. Over time, as the Zambezi flowed through these cracks, it eroded the softer sandstone, carving deep gorges that trace the zigzag path laid out by those cracks, according to "Mosi-oa-Tunya: A handbook to the Victoria Falls region," (Longmans, 1975).
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360° Tour: The “Devil’s Pool” at Victoria Falls
Straddling the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, this legendary waterfall is among the biggest and most awe-inspiring on the planet. Take a 360° ride over the jaw-dropping cliffs at Victoria Falls.
Posted by National Geographic on Sunday, April 3, 2016
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