The Valley of the Kings is a valley located in Egypt. For hundreds of years, crypts for pharaohs were cut into the valley rock. The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile and there are two sides to the valley. The East Valley is the one that consists of the tombs and the West Valley is known as the Valley of the Monkeys.
The Valley of the Kings is located over one thousand feet of limestone and other rock and the area is extremely popular for archeological digs as well as tourism. The tombs are decorated with religious images and included in the tombs are objects that will support the afterlife.
The site became incredibly famous in the 1920s following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen.
2. Victoria Falls
Answer: Zimbabwe/Zambia
Victoria Falls are located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, on the Zambezi River. It is one of the largest waterfalls in the world, measuring over five thousand six hundred feet across. On the Zambia side they're located at Livingstone and on the Zimbabwe side they're located at Victoria Falls.
They measure three hundred fifty five feet high at the highest point. They're approximately twice the size of Niagara Falls in terms of width and height! One of the famous features of the falls is called either the 'armchair' or 'devil's pool' which is located on the Zimbabwean side of the falls.
At a certain time of year and the river is flowing just right, a rock barrier forms an eddy that daring swimmers take advantage of. There is still the risk of going over the edge and there have been some deaths as a result of this activity.
3. Mount Kilimanjaro
Answer: Tanzania
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free standing mountain in the world. It reaches over nineteen hundred feet above sea level and is a major spot for intrepid mountain climbers. It is also a dormant volcano, having three volcanic cones. Two of them, called Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct, however the third, called Kibo is dormant and could erupt again. Kibo is more than twenty four feet wide and thankfully hasn't erupted in more than a hundred and fifty thousand years.
There are seven different routes for climbers to ascend Kilimanjaro that range in time and difficulty. In 2019 an eighty-nine year old woman climbed the mountain!
4. Sossusvlei
Answer: Namibia
Sossusvlei is located in the Namib Desert and is a salt and clay bed that is surrounded by red dunes. Some of the dunes are as high as two hundred meters and the largest one in this particular area is three hundred and twenty five meters high and has the nickname 'Big Daddy.' Summer temperatures average forty degrees Centigrade, with very little precipitation and a swing of temperature between day and night.
A variety of small animals live in this region, including reptiles, springbok, jackals and rodents.
It is a very popular spot for tourists with one option being to take a small plane ride over the pan to get an aerial shot of the beauty.
5. Ngorongoro Crater
Answer: Tanzania
The Ngorongoro Crater is the main feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority. The crater is two thousand feet deep and one hundred square miles in size. The crater was formed by a volcano that exploded and collapsed and is no longer active. There are two other volcanoes in the region that are active and one had a major eruption in 2007 and in 2008.
Many different kinds of animals live in the crater, including rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest. The crater was named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa in 2013.
6. Volcanoes National Park
Answer: Rwanda
This national park is in the Northwest of Rwanda. It covers a large rainforest and has five volcanoes: Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. Bisoke is an active volcano. Volcanoes National Park is home to the mountain gorilla and was the base for Dian Fossey and her work with that animal.
The park covers sixty-two square miles and has a rich variety of vegetation, because of the difference in elevation ranging from the rainforest to the volcanoes.
7. Fish River Canyon
Answer: Namibia
The Fish River Canyon is a massive canyon that is a popular tourist spot. It is one hundred miles long, almost seventeen miles wide at its widest point, and as deep as five hundred and fifty feet. It is located in southern Namibia and consists of an upper and lower canyon.
A view from the air of the canyon shows a twisting, meandering lower canyon that was formed by by erosion. There is a hiking trail that runs almost ninety kms long and can take up to five days to complete. Because of extremely hot temperatures as well as flooding dangers from the Fish River, permits for the trail are only issued for a specific time of year, between May first and the middle of September.
8. Okavango Delta
Answer: Botswana
The Okavango Delta is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. It's located in Botswana and is an inland river delta that is created by seasonal flooding of the the Okavango River. All the water that reaches the delta evaporates or transpires and none of the water flows to an ocean or sea.
The size of the delta varies from two thousand three hundred square miles to five thousand eight hundred square miles depending on the waters.
9. Avenue of the Baobabs
Answer: Madagascar
Avenue of the Baobabs is a stretch of dirt road in western Madagascar that is lined on either side by the magnificent tree, the Grandidier's baobab. There are over twenty of these trees that stretch over eight hundred and fifty meters and a number of the same trees growing nearby.
The trees are almost three thousand years old. The road is very popular among visitors to the region. Just over four miles away from the avenue are a pair of the same trees known as Baobab Amoureux, as they have grown with their trunks entwined.
10. Lake Tana
Answer: Ethiopia
This lake in Ethiopia was formed about five thousand years ago from volcanic activity. It is approximately fifty miles long, forty miles wide and as deep as fifteen meters. It is the largest lake in Ethiopia and is the source of the Blue Nile River. Although it is a tropical lake it is quite cold (for such a lake), measuring at twenty to twenty seven degrees Centigrade.
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