Ngorongoro
Conservation area
is the largest unbroken caldera in the world, which is un-flooded. The
crater is about 3188 m above sea level, and was formed several million
years ago by the collapse of the cone of the volcanic mountain into
the empty magma beneath the crust.
The crater is about 610 meters
deep, 20 kilometers in diameters, covering an area of 325 square kilometers.
This area now has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.
Designated as a World Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro is home tosome endangered
species, like the black rhino. The crater walls act as a natural cage,
the depth making it difficult for some animals to leave; most have no
need to leave, being able to find enough resources inside.The Ngorongoro
Crater has been called the 8th Wonder of the World, and with good reason.
It is an unspoilt Eden, where one can easily see most of the Big 5 -
rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and giraffe within minutes of descending
into the Crater.
As with most lakes in the Rift
Valley area, the small lake in the crater is a soda lake, and is the
seasonal home for thousands of flamingoes. The crater floor is a self-contained
world apart, likened to Noah's Ark for its preservation of animal diversity
in a relatively contained area. An estimated 30,000 animals make their
home here. There are numerous habitats within the crater ranging from
the Yellow-barked acacia forests of Lerai to the swamps around Ngoitokitok
Springs to the pink flamingo mantle of the soda Lake Magadi, each supporting
a distinct ecosystem. The Ngorongoro Crater is part of a larger eco-system
called the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This is a multiple land use
area, and a distinct phenomenon of this area is the manner in which
the Maasai tribe with their cattle coexists peacefully with the wildlife.
It is a common sight where the young Maasai morani (young warriors)
leading their cattle to watering places in the crater, carrying spears
for protection against the wild animals.
Within the Ngorongoro Conservation
Area, on the Naabi Plains that unfurl between the Crater and The Serengeti,
lies Olduvai Gorge, popularly known as "The Cradle of Mankind". It was
here that Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife Mary first discovered the remains
of Zinjanthropus Bosei, a distant ancestor of man believed to be 1.8
million years old and Australopithecus Bosei, the 'Nutcracker Man',
a species that became extinct about 1 million years ago. There were
also fossilized footprints, remains of ancient tools and bones from
various prehistoric species, which are now extinct
