botswana/namibia - Cour international de Justice

415. The curving loops of the Kasai channel are filled with water and clearly channelling
flood water from the Zambezi River into the lower Chobe. There is no sign of general
flooding. The shine on the northern sections of the channels and the Kasai channel is caused
by reflection off the water surface due to the angle of the sun at the moment of exposure.
The 1981 Photograph (Scale 1;16,000) Annual mean flow 1186 m3 (1980) 647 m3 (1981).
Reproduced with labels at page 179.
416. Although the precise date is not known of this photograph, it is obvious that it was taken
at a time of high water which is usually from March to May. This conclusion is based on the
relative increase in the width of the channels and the extent of the penetration of the inlets
marked C,D, E and the Spur channel. The entrance to the southern channel in the bifurcation
zone is also much wider than in the earlier photographs.
417. Despite the high level of water in the southern channel, both sectors of the northern
channel are visibly much larger along their whole length than the southern channel. In this
and the two 1972 photographs the overall configuration of the Island remains the same and
there is no sign of human occupation.
418. Professor Alexander states that "the visual characteristics of Zone d" (Diagram 4 of sheet
17 of Namibian Memorial, Volume VI, part 2), "are appreciably different from those of all the
other deposits on the photograph" (Namibian Memorial, Vol.VI, Part 1, p.22, para. 8.11). His
proposition, which forms the bedrock of his theory regarding the 'pseudo-Chobe River', is
based solely on this 1981 photograph which was badly developed, resulting in an over-stated
contrast to the image. That image should be compared to the June 1977 aerial photograph
taken by JARIC where the tone and texture of the visible surface features is uniform
throughout the whole of the island.
The August 1985 Photograph (Scale 1;10,000) Average mean flow 776 m3 (1984); 785 m3
(1985). Reproduced with labels at page 181.
419. The water level in this photograph is relatively high, as evidenced by the width of the
entrance to the southern channel at the bifurcation zone marked B and the presence of small
channels across the sediment spit marked A. Residual water is also visible in the centre of the
Island and opposite the Chobe National Park Headquarters. Despite the high level of water in
the southern channel, it is still visibly smaller than the northern and western sectors of the
northern channel and is restricted by the narrow section at the north-west tip of the sediment
spit marked A.
Additional Aerial Photographs
G32 - 1981 aerial photograph with labels
G33 - August 1985 aerial photograph with labels
420. In addition to the series of aerial photographs contained in the Attachment to the
Botswana Memorial further aerial photographs are now available, as follows.
The July 1977 Photograph (Scale 1: 150,000) Average mean flow 1171 m3 (1976) Photo J).
Reproduced at page 185.