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The Devil's Swimming Pool

Here are the impressive Victoria Falls
The falls
But what is that over on the right? Let's take a closer look.
A closer look
Oh! It's just a father and his son at the very edge.

Scary? Possibly so. Dangerous? No. Not unless you do something really stupid, like lying on your back and hanging out over the edge...

Hanging out
Or reaching out as far as you can for that once-in-a-lifetime photo.
Photo Op
It's so much better to stand right on the very edge to take the picture.
Standing on the edge
Most people, though, just hang out and enjoy the water and the scenery in a more safe and secure fashion.
The normal way to see it

The magnificent Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe roar so furiously that the mist and sound of it can be heard for great distances. The falls are 128 meters (420 feet) high. At the very top is a natural pool known as the "Devil's Swimming Pool". During the months of September and December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without falling over. These falls are becoming well known amongst the "radical tourists", when more and more people search for the ultimate experience.

The "Devil's Pool" is a natural rock pool at the very top of Victoria Falls in Zambia where (at certain times of year) adventurous swimmers can splash around in relative safety just a few feet away from where the waters of the Zambezi River cascade over the waterfall and plunge more than into the gorge below. The terrifying aspect of such an adventure is heightened for first-time visitors because the pool does not appear to have any sort of barrier (natural or otherwise) to protect swimmers who jump into it from being swept over the edge of the falls.

In 2003, travel writer Clive Andrews described his visit to the Devil's Pool for an article published in the UK newspaper The Mirror:

I'm perched precariously on a slippery rock jutting out of the Zambezi. Just a few feet in front of me the mighty river cascades over the Victoria Falls, plunging 100 metres into the gorge below.

No matter how many times my guide, Vincent, insists that it's safe to dive in, I just can't see what's going to stop me being swept over the edge and pureed on the jagged rocks at the bottom.

But it's taken me nearly an hour of stumbling over boulders in temperatures of more than 40°C to get to Devil's Pool and I'm not going to give in. So I grit my teeth and take the plunge — after Vincent jumps in first, of course.

The current takes hold immediately, carrying me towards the edge. But, before I can be dragged to a watery grave, I'm stopped by a natural rock wall just beneath the surface. As well as saving my life it allows me to peer over the edge and down into a deafening explosion of rainbow-coloured spray. A truly incredible sight.
There are a lot of photographs and video clips of tourists enjoying visits to the Devil's Pool on the Internet. Just do a search for "Devil's Pool", or "Victoria Falls".

If you are an advanced viewer and worked the target to get actual measurements, such as size, width, water flow rate (if you got water and moving, then surely you were curious about the amount of water, speed of movement, amount of water, etc. - weren't you?), Wikipedia's articles on
Victoria Falls should provide you with all the feedback you will need.

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