CHIRUNDU FOSSIL FOREST

A sign indicates the location of these huge tree trunks from the Karoo period, about 150 million years ago. One of the many charms of Kariba is the mysterious forests of dead trees (mostly mopane and mahogany) that stand near the shoreline. This is a very important part of the city's culture, as it is the only way to get to know the city and its people. They are the survivors of the vast logging campaign undertaken on more than 1,000 km² before the lake was formed. Also spared by the rise of the waters, too slow and too progressive to involve their fall, they were, for a long time, a subject of concern for the ecologists of the region. They predicted that in the long term the trees would be detrimental to the developing ecosystem... The opposite was true! In the 1970's, research established that the submerged trees constituted a favorable support for the development of dozens of species of vertebrates and algae. A providential food that allows to maintain a very high rate of fish in the lake. This is the only way to ensure the sustainability of the city's cultural landscape. It is important to add that they serve as a perch for a multitude of aquatic birds (egrets, herons, cormorants, kingfishers and fish eagles...) that like to come and nest in their bare branches.