The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart

East Africa's Great Rift Valley is the product of deep-seated geological forces, which have spewed out a line of cloud-wreathed volcanoes stretching from Ethiopia to Tanzania. Their peaks provide a refuge for extraordinary wildlife.

The Rift Valley channels a huge diversity of waterways - rivers, lakes, waterfalls, caustic springs and coral seas - spanning from Egypt to Mozambique. Some harbour previously unseen life-forms, while caustic waters challenge life to the extreme. Where volcanic minerals enrich the Great Rift's waterways, they provide the most spectacular concentrations of birds, mammals and fish.

The Great Rift Valley provides the stage for an epic battle between trees and grass, its course influenced by volcanic eruptions, landscape and rainfall. On its outcome rests the fate of Africa's great game herds.