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The Valley of Desolation is crossed en route to the Boiling Lake. What was once a lush forested area appears now to be devoid of life. The floor of the Valley is covered with mosses and lichens, and scattered around are grasses and the yellow and white flowered Bromeliad, Pitcairnia spicata var. sulpurea. The harsh environment of the Valley has limited the wildlife to lizards, cockroaches, stoneflies, mayflies and ants. Scattered throughout the purple-gren valley floor are brightly coloured hot springs. The greys, blues, blacks, greens, yellow, browns and oranges are the result of minerals from the water which have been deposited on the stream beds. Some of the rocks are also covered with yellow sulphur crystals. Hot boiling mud, mini-geysers and fumaroles are scattered in the Valley. The water from the Boiling Lake and Valley of Desolation flows into Victoria Falls and River Blanc (White River) and enters the Atlantic Ocean near Delice.

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