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LAKE
BARINGO
in Kenya’s
Great Rift Valley is a freshwater lake
approximately 22 km long, by 11 kms wide, with an area of 168 sq kms. It is
situated at an altitude of 1100 meters but is surrounded by mountains rising
to almost 300 meters above the ambient ground level in places. At the
northern end of the Lake lies the dormant
volcano, Karosi, 1449 meters high.
The water of Lake
Baringo is fresh unlike those other Great
Rift Valley lakes of Bogoria, Elementeita, Nakuru and Magadi
which are "soda lakes." Although it is not known where the water
flows out of Lake Baringo,
it is reasoned that it must do so as otherwise the water would be subject to
a continual process of evaporation, and the Lake
would become soda. It may well do so from a submerged crevasse at its
northern end, emerging 100 ks north at Karpedda.
As a freshwater Lake
it is home to hippos, crocodiles and an abundance of fish and birds, but it
does not have flamingoes, as these feed on the algae specific to soda lakes.
Despite this, it is most famous as an ornithologist's paradise, with 500 bird
species, many of which are extremely rare or otherwise only seen in this
area.
The climate is warm (25 to 35 degrees) all year
round, day and night. While a welcome breeze blows off the Lake
in the evenings, the sensation of coldness is practically unknown here. The
annual average rainfall is 640 mm, a large proportion of which falls in
May-July and a lesser amount in November-December.
The peoples in the vicinity of the Lake
are the Tugen and the Il Chamus (or Njempse) with the Pokot living slightly
further north, and visiting the area to graze cattle or trade. A few Turkana
have migrated to the area. There is very little cultivation owing to the long
hot dry season, followed by the habitually violent rains in May, and most
inhabitants survive on the grazing of goats, sheep and cattle supplemented by
fishing Catfish and Tilapia and harvesting of wild fruits and berries.
The town on the western shore, Kampi ya Samaki
(literally "Fishing camp") has a population of a couple of hundred
and a reasonable array of shops and a clinic, including a post office with
online computers.
Alison Jones “Crossing the Omo”
Bird List
Safaris in the area
State of Roads and Security
Activities
Off-road routes
When visiting Lake
Baringo you can organize safaris to
Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot with ARCHER OUTPOST SAFARIS based
at Robert’s Camp. These trips may be tied into a stay at the Camp for up to
two weeks and will include collections from the airport.
Hippo at Roberts Camp, using IF
photography Heinrich Griers
www.lake-baringo.com is created and
maintained by
Archer
Outpost Ltd Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved
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