The 1986 Lake Nyos Disaster occurred when volcanic carbon dioxide (CO2) gas erupted from beneath an African lake in Cameroon, bubbling to the surface and forming a deadly cloud. There was no huge eruption, no great boom or blast to warn people. What resulted however was like a scene from a horror movie. The deadlyContinue reading “The Ignored and Forgotten Lake Nyos Disaster”
Tag Archives: Africa
The Hunt for the Source of the Nile River
For centuries, the quest to discover the source of Africa’s great Nile River has captivated explorers, much like the race to reach the North Pole or climb Mt. Everest first. The river’s vast expanse across central Africa complicated matters though, making exploration both daunting and dangerous. Egyptian and Sudanese kingdoms depended on the river and itsContinue reading “The Hunt for the Source of the Nile River”
King Shaka Zulu – the Napoleon of Africa
In the early 1800’s, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, a powerful kingdom arose. Its leader was the cruel yet clever King Shaka. Under his rule, the small Zulu tribe grew and conquered all other tribes in the region. During his reign, more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a unifiedContinue reading “King Shaka Zulu – the Napoleon of Africa”
The Rwanda Genocide – an African Holocaust
In 1994, in just one hundred gruesome days, nearly 1 million Rwandan Tutsis and moderates were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists in the Rwanda Genocide.
The Exotic and Unreachable Timbuktu
The name “Timbuktu” in popular culture usually refers to some remote, far-away place. “Crikey, you live way out in Timbuktu!” For others, it may conjure up exotic images of a desert oasis full of camels, palm trees, and turbans. Timbuktu is actually a city in west Africa, located in the center of the nation of Mali.