THE WONDERS OF AFRICA.

Evening Star, Issue 11451, 19 January 1901, Page 8

THE WONDERS OF AFRICA.

AN INLAND SEA. At a recent meeting in London of the Royal Geographical Society Mr J. E. S. Mocre gave an interesting account of a recent expedition to the region of Tanganyika, the ohjfois of which were to pursue further the investigations of the fauna, flora, geography, and geology of Tanganyika, and to go north with the same objects via Kivu and the Albert Edward Nyanza os far as the Albert Nyaiz*. Mr Moore explained that the necessity—or, at any rate, the desirability—of further knowledge of the physiographical features and of the aquatic fauna and flora of the great African lake grow out of what, in want of a better name, he described as the Tanganyika problem. Tanganyika, as he had fouud in his first expedition, contained fish of a type which were disTnccly oceanic, and, moreover, exactly resembled specimens found in geological strata. The question was: In what way had Tanganyika been connected with the ocean ? Was it north or south or west? THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY.

North of Tanganyika the great valley of the lake is continued as a trough-tike depression among the surrounding high plateaux, and beyond the lake itself it is floored with a flat mass of lucusirino and alluvial deposits covered with euphorbia and grass, and extending for,some tnirty miles north ot the lake. The shores of Lake Kivu are formed by a continuation of the great Tanganyika trough, which from this point onwards cuts its way northwards through what appears to be a uniformly unbroken series ot eruptive granitoid plateaux, which stretch in unbroken monotony east and west of the valley as far as the coast of the Albert Nvanza. The valley of Tanganyika, although belonging to the tamo watershed, is physically discontinuous from that of Kivu, and apparently always had been, just as that of Tanganyika is discontinuous from thit of Nyussa and the depressions to the tomb. A FORMER INLAND SEA. Mr Moore, who spoke of his great indebtedness to the German Consul at Uj ji, declared, ua a result of his woik, that Lake Kivu, the Albert Edward, and Albert Nyarzis presented only the characteristics ot pond life. There was no vestige of any of the halolimnic animals in any of the lakes in ihe rift-valley north or south of Taoganyika, but this fauna did appear to extend into the Congo valley, auu consequently, when the queetion was raised in what direction Tanganyika was slocked from the sea, he suggested looking westward. Much of the Congo basiu had undoubtedly in former ages been covered by the sea. THE GREATEST VOLCANOES IN THE WORLD. The volcanoes north of Kivu were the largest active group of volcanoes in the world. The crater of one was over 13,000 ft high. Some beautiful photographs of the volcanic region,’ of the Mountains of the Moon, and of the lakes were hero thrown on the screen. Mr Moore said that it was obvious that enormous quantities of volcanic matter had been recently poured into the rift-valley, immediately north of Lake Kivu, and had filled the valley up to a great height, and it was on this account, he believed, that the lake, which was 5,000fc above sea level, appeared to be full, and for the same reason the Rusiai outlet to the south had, he believed, been recently acquired, and war, geologically speaking, quite new. He did not think that there could be any doubt that the volcanic mass had acted in this way as a dam across the valley, causing the lake to rise and ultimately flow over to the south, its connection with Tanganyika and with the Congo watershed being thus secondary, and of quite recent origin. THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON. Mr Moore proceeded to give an account of his ascent of the northern snow ridge of Ngomvvimbi, past of the range known as the Mountains ot the Moon. The results of this ascent, which was attended with great difficulty and danger, led to the conclusion that the existence of an extensive high plateau iu the centre of the Ruwerzori range must be dismissed as a myth. The Moboko valley and several of its branches run completely through the range, forming in the west between the high snow-peak passes, which are known to the natives, and by which they say they have crossed into the’Semliki valley on the other side. Broadly speaking, the whole range is composed of three more or lets disjointed masses. There is a great central mass of wild and very lofty mountains, at least four of the peaks of which are snow-capped, while on the north and south of it there are deep valleys, which are again bounded by the wbi’e snow peaks to the north and south. So far as he could tell, this central portion seemed to be the highest. Three of the valleys between the central and northern peaks contain glaciers, and the Muboko itself rises in the great glacier which faces the upper part of the valley. FORESTS OF HEATH. The lecturer gave a very graphic account of the difficulties of the ascent, accompanied by his Swahilis, who, with practically nothing on, felt the cold very much as they reached the snow line. On the lower slopes of the mountain were huge forests of bamboo, and to these succeeded heath. But the heath was not as we know it in England. The trees grew to a height of 60ft, and resembled the Alpine forests, only on a gigantic scale. For centuries these trees had grown, died, and rotted away, with the result that the true ground was covered with a spongy mass of vegetation, 40ft dr more deep. As they were crossing this heath belt, every now and then a carrier would disappear in this vegetable mass, and would have to bo hauled out by ropes from a holo 40ft deep. One peculiarity of the mountains was this. Lying almost immediately under the Equator it was a region of perpetual summer; hence the snow line never varied as in the Alps, and the vegetalion came almost up to the line of perpetual enow. This snow itself was in strata, as during the cay it partially melted and at night froze. Mr Moore described the wonder of his boys at first seeing ice. One of them seized hold of a large piece, declaring he would lake it to Ujiji as a trophy, and was much astonished at its melting.