泛滥之谜 14

Upstream from Khartoum, the Blue Nile flows through dry savannah.

Then, on the fringe of the Ethiopian Highlands

the river emerges from deep inside a gorge so steep and hostile

that it has claimed the lives of many who've tried to explore the river further.

But the bottom of this gorge shows little promise of a great flood.

It's barren.

This is a tough place to make a living.

They're crossing the dried-out river bed of the Blue Nile.

Right now it's no more than a trickle

just enough to warrant a trek of many hours to bring livestock to drink.

But the huge boulders that cover the river bed

suggest that at some time a powerful force of water must flow through here.

The lammergeyer, Africa's mountain vulture

seeks out those who succumb to the heat and the drought.

In this brutal season, the lammergeyer will have plenty to choose from.