[1] On the valley floor are 16,200 ha of seasonal swamp with extensive areas of rush and sedge, and 8,000 ha of floodplain grassland with Vachellia drepanolobium thicket at the northern end of the valley that are inundated during periods of exceptionally high rainfall.
[2] The swamp is home to numerous waterbirds, including Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), Glossy ibises (Plegadis falcinellus), Black-necked grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), Black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa), Ruffs (Calidris pugnax), Fulvous tree ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor), and Knob-billed ducks (Sarkidiornis melanotos).
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) and leopards (Panthera pardus) inhabit the grasslands, woodlands, and thickets.
The Hadza traditionally forage for wild food, including hunting, seed collecting, and gathering honey.
Increasing numbers of pastoralists have moved into the valley, grazing their herds of cattle on the floodplain grasslands and in the swamps during the dry season.