There are a few places to stop your vehicle safely here. I am not looking for the “exact” spot – but please find a safe area to do this cache from (the town of Karuma is also a fair place to stop and walk).
The Blue Nile passes through a number of lakes before meeting with the White Nile in Sudan. Here the Victoria Nile portion has just exited the Lake Kyoga system on it’s way to Lake Albert. It becomes the Albert Nile as it exits and falls through the impressive Murchison Falls. John speke, the discoverer of the “source” of the Nile in Jinja is also said to have discovered and crossed the Nile here at Karuma in the 18th Century.
“....The name given to the Karuma Falls arose from the absurd belief that Karuma, the agent or familiar of a certain great spirit, placed the stones that break the waters in the river, and, for so doing, was applauded by his master, who, to reward his services by an appropriate distinction, allowed the stones to be called Karuma. “
From 'The Discover of the Source of the Nile' By John Hanning Speke
Karuma Falls is quite a landmark. In more than one sense. Historically Speke passed it on his way to locate the source of the Nile - and in his own colonial conservative style he naturally found the origin of the name absurd. However, it is one of the landmarks in Uganda which for some reason hasn't been renamed after a British royal or explorer (and then again renamed all over again by Idi Amin who in particular liked to pay tribute to other African dictators).
You find it about one hour from Gulu. The road crosses the massive waterfall where the sprays of white water run towards Sudan where the White Nile merges with the Blue Nile. The Karuma Falls has previously marked the boundary between safety and danger. A few years ago the LRA infamously made this part of the Kampala - Gulu highway insecure. Hiding in the bush, ambushing and attacking buses was one of their trademarks. Now as the peace talks continue, and in spite no concrete result having come out yet, the impact of the process can be felt. You have to slow down on this stretch, and I doubt people years back have enjoyed the view as much as you can now. Please stop a little higher up, as police and soldiers on the bridge often don’t allow photos to be taken. Also the southern side of the river offers better views from close to the road.
The falls are formed as the Nile flows over a hard extrusion of volcanic rock that has resisted the weathering and erosion of the river over the years. The surrounding sedimentary deposits have been eroded easier with time leaving the falls to cascade down. You will notice a fairly flat landscape for much of the surroundings since leaving Kampala. One of the primary rocks in the region is plinthite.
Plinthite (from the Greek plinthos, brick) is an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other minerals.
Plinthite is a redoximophic feature in highly weathered soil. The product of pedogenesis, it commonly occurs as dark red redox concretions that usually form platy, polygonal, or reticulate patterns. Plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone hardpan or to irregular soil aggregates on exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is also exposed to heat from the sun. The lower boundary of a zone in which plinthite occurs generally is diffuse or gradual, but it may be abrupt at a lithologic discontinuity. Generally, plinthite forms in a soil horizon that is saturated with water for some time during the year. Initially, iron is normally segregated in the form of soft, more or less clayey, red or dark red redox concretions. These concretions are not considered plinthite unless there has been enough segregation of iron to permit their irreversible hardening on exposure to repeated wetting and drying. Plinthite is firm or very firm when the soil moisture content is near field capacity and hard when the moisture content is below the permanent wilting point.
Plinthite concretions are coherent enough to be separated readily from the surrounding soil. Plinthite commonly occurs within and above reticulately mottled horizons. The part of the iron-rich body that is not plinthite normally stains the fingers when rubbed while wet, but the plinthite center does not. It has a harsh, dry feel when rubbed, even if wet.
Plinthite does not harden irreversibly as a result of a single cycle of drying and rewetting. After a single drying, it will remoisten and then can be dispersed in large part if one shakes it in water with a dispersing agent. In a moist soil, plinthite is soft enough to be cut with a spade. After irreversible hardening, it is no longer considered plinthite but is called ironstone. Indurated ironstone materials can be broken or shattered with a spade but cannot be dispersed if one shakes them in water with a dispersing agent. (from wikipedia).
In order to qualify to log this cache, you need to answer the following questions and s=email the cache owner. Any logs not accompanied by an email will be deleted.
1) Take a photo of you and your GPSr at this spot with the falls visible and include in your log. [Optional - safety first - as sometimes the police or other officals do not approve of photos.]
2) Describe the landscape around the cache (either approaching or leaving) and give a description of the geological and geographical features that you may have observed.
3) Wet some of the soil and notice the high clay content of it between your fingers. Describe if this would be suitable for brick making and give evidence of your answer from your journey.
4) Fords and river crossings an important feature for human development. Give an example of how another river crossing spot has contributed to human habitation (it can be from your home country).
