The Rutshuru River, Virunga National Park, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"The plain lies in the middle of the western Rift Valley. It is surrounded by high, steep mountains (Mitumba >2000m) on its western side and by gently sloping hills on its eastern side. A lake covered the bottom of the Rift Valley during the last pluvial era but later shrank to its present position, leaving a series of abandoned sand dunes, barrier beaches and flats. The plain is bounded to the north by what was formerly known as Lake Edward. The Virunga volcanoes in the south across the rift valley force the waters to flow northwards to the Nile. Salted springs associated with the volcanism pour a large amount of salt into the Rutshuru River and subsequently in the lake. The Rutshuru flows through the centre of the plain. Two other rivers that also flow across the plain in a south-north direction are the Rwindi and the Ishasha, the former to east of the Rutshuru River and the latter to the west of it." [VAN GYSEL J., ANDRE J.-M., 1997: Use of a Quantitative Method to Assess Vegetation Changes in the Central Plain of the Virunga National Park, Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.