Kenya - Geography & environment
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Photo: Geoff Sayer/Oxfam |
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Kenya is a popular tourist destination on the east coast of Africa,
bordered by Somalia to the north-east, Ethiopia and Sudan to the
north, Uganda to the west, and Tanzania to the south. The Equator
runs through the middle of the country, close to Africa’s second-highest
point, Mount Kenya.
Kenya’s dramatic landscape is dominated by the Great Rift
Valley, which slashes through the country from north to south. The
mostly flat valley varies in width from 15 to 90 kilometres, and
in some places is more than 600 metres deep. There are a number
of lakes along the Great Rift Valley; the largest is Lake Turkana
in the north.
West of the Great Rift, on an upland plateau, is the eastern edge
of Lake Victoria (the world’s second-largest freshwater lake).
East of the Great Rift are the central highlands, which slope down
to grassy plains before finally meeting the ocean with its white
sandy beaches.
The environment
A great forest once grew inland from Kenya’s coast, but only
a few patches now remain, and most of the area has become grassland.
Much of the north is near-desert, with sandy soils where little
grows. The Central Highlands have fertile volcanic soils which,
combined with a good rainfall and cool temperatures, are very productive
for food crops. Lake Turkana supports a rich fish life as well as
a large population of Nile crocodiles, but little grows on the dry
land that surrounds it.
Introduction
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|| Oxfam in Kenya
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