Soil Type and Weathering

For this portion of my blog, I will focus on the soil type and weathering that exists and occurs on the Victoria Falls land. With the contribution of the constant spray of water along the edges of the waterfalls, the soil has become humid and moistened. Thus, a rainforest developed along the shores of the Falls. In the tropical climate, a deep, red soil can be found, called Oxisols, due to the process of laterization. Oxisol soil is hard and can be used as bricks. Though the rainforest has many different types of trees within its tropical landscape, such as Waterbooms and Red Milkwood, the oxisols soil has poor nutrients. This is due to the trees occupying the majority of the nutrients of the soil.

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/philandmaxjones/1/1315856593/red-soil.jpg/tpod.html

The soil is also interesting because of its change in pedogenic process between the rainforest and the soils within the Zambezi River, which is the river that creates the Victoria Falls. The Zambezi River contains basaltic rock and therefore, “the basalt soils tend to be shallow and stony” ("To the Victoria Falls"). Other soils within the basin are red Kalahari sands. The sands and the basalt soil are mixed together, and make a whole other vegetation arena along the shores of the Falls and the river. Victoria Falls is famous for its “Big Tree” the Baobab ("To the Victoria Falls"), which is supported by the Kalahari sands and the basalt soils, and it also supports life in the form of reed and papyrus. “River gravel” (ScienceDirect.com) has been created by weathering of rocks, and one side of the falls has soil developed by sediments.

(The Zambesi River)

http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect6/Sect6_13.html

(The official "Big Tree" Baobab)

http://vicfalls.zimbabwe.co.za/Climate,_Geology,_Flora-travel/explore-victoria-falls-trees-woodland-trees.html

The basaltic soil was created by sandstone filling the joints, or fissures, in the basalt of the Zambezi River, thus physical weathering occurred. The river continuously weathers the sandstone that lies within the joints, and this has shifted the river and Victoria Falls. Through weathering, the Batoka Gorge formed.

(The Batoka Gorge)

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/business-1686-Batoka+hydro-power+project+revived/business.aspx

Sources

"To The Victoria Falls." Flora of the Victoria Falls. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://www.tothevictoriafalls.com/vfpages/ecology/flora.html>.

"ScienceDirect.com | Search through over 10 Million Science, Health, Medical Journal Full Text Articles and Books." ScienceDirect.com. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/>.