
What you need to know about Kenya
What you need to know about Kenya : Eastern Africa is where the Republic of Kenya is situated. UN estimates put the number of people living there at 54 million. Nairobi, the nation’s capital, is situated in the country’s south central region. Following South Africa and Nigeria, Kenya is one of the major economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Central Rift was formed when a sizable oval dome of rock emerged in the west-central region of Kenya, giving rise to the country’s drainage pattern. Rivers previously flowed from this dome eastward to the Indian Ocean and westward to the Congo River system and the Atlantic Ocean. This created a primordial watershed. The Tana and Galana rivers, which originate in the eastern highlands and flow roughly southeast to the Indian Ocean, still adhere to this old pattern. The main streams, however, now empty into Lake Victoria west of the Central Rift. The rivers Nyando, Yala, Mara, and Nzoia are among them. The big lakes are fed by a complicated pattern of internal streams generated by the rifting of the dome’s crust between the eastern and western systems.
There aren’t any significant groundwater basins, and most of Kenya’s rivers apart from the Tana River ,there are other small rivers that frequently dry out during the dry season. At 26,828 square miles (69,484 square kilometres), Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater body in Africa, the second largest in the world, and a significant Nile River reservoir. The greatest Rift Valley lake in the nation is Lake Rudolf, which is around 150 miles (240 km) long and 20 miles (30 km) wide. Some lakes have relatively tiny surface areas that vary a lot.
The Kenyan Soil
While the volcanic pile of Mount Elgon produces extremely fertile volcanic soils well renowned for coffee and tea production, lava deposits in the Lake Victoria basin have created fertile and sandy loam soils in the plateaus north and south of Winam Bay. Fertile dark brown loams that formed on newer volcanic deposits make up the Rift Valley and its surrounding hills. The sandy soils of the semiarid areas between the coast and the Rift highlands, however, are the most common soil types in Kenya. Large tracts of land with red desert soils, primarily sandy loams, are found north of the Rift. Kenya’s lack of forest cover is a major factor in the country’s widespread soil erosion. Overgrazing and farming, particularly in the country’s semi-arid regions, also contribute to soil loss.
Kenya Climate
The western Indian Ocean and other landmasses’ large-scale pressure systems regulate seasonal variations in the climate. North of the Equator, from December to March, is dominated by northeast winds, whereas south to southeast winds are predominant south of the Equator. Even though it could rain in certain places, these are generally dry months. With air moving in from the east in both hemispheres, the rainy season lasts from late March to May. Little precipitation falls between June and August, and north of the Equator, southwest winds predominate while southeast winds do so in the south.
The annual precipitation in the Lake Victoria basin ranges from 40 inches (1,000 mm) around the lakeshore to over 70 inches (1,800 mm) in the eastern regions at higher elevations. Because the shoreline can often expect 20 to 35 inches (500 to 900 mm) of precipitation each year, it has excellent agricultural potential. The daily highs range from July’s 80 °F (27 °C) to October and February’s 90 °F (32 °C). The average temperature of the Rift Valley drops from roughly 84 °F (29 °C) in the north to slightly over 61 °F (16 °C) in the south, near Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha. The nearby highlands have typically mild weather, with average highs of 56 to 65 °F (13 to 18 °C).
While the upland regions of the Rift Valley receive more than 30 inches (760 mm) of rain annually, the valley bottom is typically dry. A robust agriculture sector is based on the Mau Escarpment’s rich soils and consistent precipitation. Although precipitation is highly variable, most parts of the eastern plateau region receive 20 to 30 inches (500 to 760 mm) of precipitation annually. Kenya’s northern, north-eastern, and southern semiarid and arid regions experience high temperatures and highly variable precipitation. The majority of localities have average yearly temperatures of at least 85 °F (29 °C), with only roughly 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation in the north and less than 20 inches (500 mm) in the south.
The majority of the coast experiences year-round high relative humidity and average temperatures above 80 °F (27 °C). Westward precipitation drops to about 20 inches (500 mm) annually from the humid coast, where annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 50 inches (760 to 1,270 mm). Precipitation is dependable enough only on the southern coast for thriving agriculture.
Kenya Plant and Animals
The distinctive terrain of the highlands lies between heights of 7,000 and 9,000 feet (2,100 and 2,700 metres), with large stretches of short grass between pockets of evergreen forest. When human encroachment has not been overcome, the forest contains commercially valuable trees such podo variety and cedars (Juniperus procera). Above the forest, a zone of bamboo stretches to around 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), after which is mountain moorland with giant lobelia (a widely distributed herbaceous plant), tree heaths, and tree groundsel (a foundation timber of the genus Senecio). Low trees are strewn among a uniform layer of short grass to the east and west of the highlands, replacing the woods.
Baobab trees grow in semi desert areas below 3,000 feet (900 metres). Desert scrub appears in the north’s still-dryer regions, revealing the bare earth. The coastline region’s vegetation is primarily savanna with remnant woodland patches. Forest remains can still be found along the northern coast, but centuries of human habitation have all but destroyed the forests in the south. By the early 21st century, environmentalist Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had established the Green Belt Movement, an organisation dedicated to slowing the processes of deforestation and desertification, with some 30 million trees planted.
Tsetse flies and mosquitoes, which spread malaria and sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis), respectively, are endemic to about one-third of Kenya, especially the western areas and the coastal belt.
Kenya wildlife
The majority of Kenya’s diverse wildlife population is found outside of the nation’s several game reserves and national parks. For example, baboons and zebras can be found near metropolitan hubs and human settlements, such as the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. This has led to conflict between humans and animals, which is occasionally handled by moving the animals to less densely populated places. The Kenya Wildlife Service launched the “parks beyond parks” programme in the middle of the 1990s in an attempt to address the issue. In an effort to increase locals’ tolerance for the presence of wild animals, the strategy has tried to involve them in the management and distribution of the money earned from them. Poaching incidents in national parks and wildlife reserves have decreased as a result of community involvement in the programme, which has shown some degree of success.

Each region’s vegetation and the distribution and differentiation of its wildlife are closely related. Elephants and rhinoceroses are the most common large mammals found in the highland rainforests, while poaching and deforestation have severely decreased the numbers of both species. There are also colobus monkeys, bushbucks, and occasionally galagos (bush babies). There are several bird species and duiker variations in the bamboo zone. Predators found in the Highlands include wildcats, lions, and leopards.
The most numerous animal populations—mainly ungulate species like the hartebeest, zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest (gnu)—are found on the vast grasslands that lie between the woodland zone and lower regions. The warthog, buffalo, eland, impala, and waterbuck are some of the others. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs feed on these. There is far richer birdlife because the forest doesn’t interfere with it, and hippopotamuses and crocodiles occasionally visit lakes and rivers where swarms of fish live. Lake Bogoria, a soda lake with high salinity and alkalinity in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, is home to a sizable population of lesser flamingos, one of the largest in the world.
Elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, leopards, giraffes, gerenuk, impalas, dik-diks, and different species of kudu can be found in the thorn bushes and thickets of the desert regions; buffalo, elephants, and suni antelope can be found in the coastal forest. Large rivers are home to crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and a wide variety of fish, while the coastal waters are home to a wealth of marine life, including butterfly fish, angelfish, rock cod, barracuda, and spiny lobsters.
