Somewhere in the world, there is a total eclipse of the Sun almost every year. But each is visible only in such a narrow path that, if you stand and wait for one to come your way, the average wait will be 400 years. That is why people who wish to view what has been called nature’s most beautiful spectacle must travel to do so.
For North American observers, the last total solar eclipse was visible from Hawaii and Mexico in July 1991. Regrettably, the next one will not occur until the year 2017, when a total solar eclipse can be seen in a narrow band across parts of the United States. For the coming 2001 total eclipse, Africa is the best land area for viewing.
On June 21, 2001, the shadow of the Moon will first touch the Earth in the South Atlantic off the coast of Brazil, and rush eastward across the Atlantic Ocean toward its first landfall in Angola, Africa. It then crosses Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Madagascar, ending at sunset in the Indian Ocean.