The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind." It is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley , which stretches along eastern Africa . Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about 30 miles long. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant Sansevieria ehrenbergii , commonly called Oldupaai.
Olduvai more accurately called Oldupai after the wild sisal in the area, this is the site of the some of the most important findings of an early hominid fossils of all time (made famous by the work of the Leakey family) - The "Nutcracker Man" or Australophithecus boisei who lived 1.8 million years ago.
It was here that Dr. Louis Leakey discovered the remains of Homo Habilis (Hardy man). Many more fossils have been discovered here including:
 Those of Prehistoric Elephants
Giant horned Sheep and
Enormous Ostriches.
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