Olduvai Gorge & Laetoli
Over the last 30 years, it has become increasingly clear that Africa is unquestionably the “Cradle of Mankind”. They branched out from Africa and populated the rest of the planet. The oldest human remains were unearthed in Oldupai Gorge.
The Olduvai Gorge, also known paleoanthropological sites, as the Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania, is one of the world’s most important and it has been critical to understanding early human evolution. A steep-sided valley in the Great Rift Valley that runs across East Africa, it is approximately 48 kilometres (30 miles) long and located in the eastern Serengeti Plains in the Arusha Region, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Laetoli, another notable archaeological site of early human settlement. Mary and Louis Leakey, a British/Kenyan paleoanthropologist-archeologist pair, initiated and expanded the excavation and research projects at Olduvai Gorge, resulting in significant advances in human understanding and global recognition. Paleoanthropologists uncovered hundreds of fossilised bones and stone tools in the area dating back millions of years, leading them to conclude that humans evolved in Africa.
In Maasai, Olduvai means “the place of the wild sisal” or Sansevieria. The gorge, which is 25 km downstream of Lakes Ndutu and Masek, goes through Pleistocene lake bed sediments to a depth of 90 metres. A minor valley, beginning on Lemagrut Mountain, joins the main gorge 8 km from its mouth. This side valley runs along the coast of a prehistoric lake, which is rich in fossils and early human dwellings. Volcanic ash from Olmoti and Kerimasi served to preserve the fossils. Olduvai is a misspelling of Oldupai, a Maasai term for a wild sisal plant common in the region. The gorge is located in the Great Rift Valley, between the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park. It is 30 km from Laetoli, another fossil-rich area. The Olduvai Gorge was constructed around 30,000 years ago as a result of strong geological activity and streams.
The steep ravine is around 30 miles (48.2 km) long and 295 feet (89.9 meters) deep, therefore it is not quite huge enough to be designated as a canyon. A river flows through numerous layers, generating four distinct beds, the oldest of which is thought to be roughly 2 million years old.
Hominid footprints from 3.6 million years ago are preserved in volcanic rock near Laetoli, west of Ngorongoro Crater, and are among the world’s earliest signs of humanity. Three separate tracks from a small-brained, upright-walking early hominid. Australopithecus afarensis, a species that stands 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall, was discovered. The Oldupai Museum displays imprints of these.
More evolved relatives of Laetoli’s hominids were discovered further north, buried beneath the strata of the Oldupai Gorge, which is 100 meters deep. Excavations, largely conducted by archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey, uncovered four distinct species of hominids, exhibiting a gradual increase in brain size and the complexity of their stone tools. The first skull of Zinjanthropus, often known as ‘Nutcracker Man’, who lived around 1.75 million years ago, was unearthed here. The most noteworthy findings include Home habilis, Zinjathropus, and the Laetoli footprints.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority
The diamond in Ngorongoro’s crown is a deep volcanic crater, the world’s largest unflooded and unbroken caldera. The Ngorongoro Crater is a remarkable natural wonder that is approximately 20 miles wide, 600 meters deep, and encompasses 300 square kilometres.
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most well-known destinations, boasting the highest wildlife density. The Crater, often known as the ‘eighth wonder of the world,’ has garnered global fame and attracts an increasing number of visitors each year. You won’t be able to avoid other vehicles here, but you can expect to view some spectacular species in an absolutely stunning surroundings. Ngorongoro is not like any other site in Africa!
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact volcanic crater. It forms a lovely bowl of around 265 square kilometres, with sides up to 600 meters deep, and is home to approximately 30,000 creatures at any given moment. The crater rim is about 2,200 meters high and has its own climate. From this high vantage point, you can observe little animals scurrying around the crater floor far below. Most days of the year, clouds hang over the rocky rim, and it’s one of the few places in Tanzania where the nights may be cold.
The crater floor has a variety of habitats, including grassland, swamps, woodlands, and Lake Makat (Maasai meaning “salt”), a vast soda lake fed by the Munge River. All of these diverse environments stimulate animals to drink, wallow, graze, hide, or climb. Although animals can freely move in and out of this contained ecosystem, the rich volcanic soil, dense forests, and spring source lakes on the crater floor (together with relatively steep crater slopes) tend to entice both grazers and predators to stay all year.
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the best places in Tanzania to see the endangered Black Rhino, as a small population thrives in this stunning and protected environment. It is one of the few places where they can still breed naturally. Leopards and majestic black-maned lions are also frequently spotted here. Many flamingos are drawn to Lake Magadi’s soda waters.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established with the goal of protecting the habitat for the Maasai people who had been evacuated from the Serengeti Plain. They are primarily nomadic, establishing transient settlements in circular homesteads known as bomas. A couple of these have now been made available to tourists for exploration, and they can be visited. Here you can see how the huts are constructed in a strict order based on the wives’ chronological order, and you can imagine what it must be like to rely on warmth and energy from a fire blazing in the core of a cattle dung home with no chimney. These brave cattle herders have a long history as warriors, and despite the fact that they are no longer allowed to establish villages within the crater, they continue to drive their cattle into it to graze and drink, heedless of the predators that surround them.
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