| Victoria Falls is a well-known and popular Tourist spot | | | | It does best in slow-moving water e.g. lakes, ponds, |
| in Zimbabwe. It used to be known as 'the smoke | | | | ditches, marshes and rivers avoiding brackish or salty |
| that thunders' and is found on the River Zambezi. | | | | waters, but is able to tolerate polluted water. |
| Less well known though are Kariba Lake and Cabora | | | | Similarly, it is not affected by wide-ranging |
| Bassa, both built on the Zambezi River which itself is | | | | temperature variations, though it does best in |
| on the Rift Valley Fault line that runs south from | | | | moderate temperatures. |
| Ethiopia. (Actually it starts in the Jordan River Valley) | | | | Sadly, its existence in the US is most probably as a |
| Just to speculate, wouldn't it be odd and cataclysmic | | | | result of being imported for aquarium or garden |
| if that chunk of Africa through which the Rift Valley | | | | ponds. Alternatively, importing fresh iced fish may |
| runs, broke off and became a large, elongated island? | | | | have been the source of contamination for the US. |
| The weight of the water now bearing down on the | | | | Salvinia Molesta is prohibited in many of the US |
| southernmost end of the Rift which is the Zambezi | | | | states, but actually getting rid of it is not simple. |
| may just be a contributing factor. | | | | Firstly it has a horrendously rapid growth ability, |
| Salvinia Molesta unveiled the ugly side of its face on | | | | doubling in surface area in around 4 days. Secondly, |
| Lake Kariba. It dramatically covered huge areas of | | | | growth also occurs downwards which means that it |
| the water body, significantly putting an end to the | | | | can form an island up to 2' thick. As it dies and |
| hope of developing a large and sustainable fishing | | | | decomposes, the oxygen in the water is used up, |
| industry on the Lake. | | | | leading to stagnation which in turn kills off plants, |
| It is now posing a threat to Lakes in the USA. To | | | | insects and fish. |
| stop salvinia molesta spreading, boaters can ensure | | | | A weevil has been used successfully in trials to |
| that no part of the plant is caught up in any part of | | | | control it, as have some chemicals. Mechanical means |
| the boat's underwater mechanism, or indeed | | | | have been employed on getting rid of it, but serious |
| anywhere on the boat. Jet washing the both large | | | | problems are encountered in this method of |
| and small boats down assists greatly with this, as | | | | elimination. How to successfully destroy the huge |
| does a visual inspection to detect any part of the | | | | piles of harvested plants and coping with machinery in |
| weed on the boat. | | | | shallow water being just two of these problems. |
| Salvinia Molesta (molesta from the verb to molest - | | | | All boating activity, large boats and small boats, is to |
| to damage innocence) is an aquatic Brazilian fern. It | | | | be enjoyed in the outdoors. Let it remain so for a |
| floats on the water and has leaf-like fronds up to 1/4 | | | | long time to come as every endeavor is made to |
| inch in length which have a thick hairy surface. Below | | | | keep our lakes clear of avoidable contamination from |
| the water, long hair-like strands join at the end to | | | | plants like salvinia molesta. |
| form a billowing swirl. | | | | |