The Kerio River is a river in
Turkana County
Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
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, capital = Nairobi
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...
. It flows northward into
Lake Turkana. It is one of the longest rivers in Kenya, originating near the
equator.
Course
The Kerio River rises on the north slopes of the Amasya Hills to the west of Lake Bogoria.
It flows northward through the
Kerio Valley
Kerio Valley lies between the Tugen Hills and the Elgeyo Escarpment in Kenya. It sits at an elevation of 1,000 meters in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Great Rift Valley.
Geography
The isolated Kerio Valley is situated in a narrow, long strip that ...
between
Tugen Hills
The Tugen Hills (also known as ''Saimo'') are a series of hills in Baringo County, Kenya. They are located in the central-western portion of Kenya.
The Tugen Hills represent one of the few areas in Africa preserving a succession of deposits from ...
and
Elgeyo Escarpment Elgeyo escarpment is a fault-scarp caused by post-Miocene faulting. Miocene beds are still visible. The escarpment is part of the western wall of the Great Rift Valley.
The northwest part of Kenya has three main geographic zones running in parall ...
.
The Elgeyo Escarpment rises to over above the Kerio valley in places.
The Kerio continues northward, often through deep and narrow valleys, to enter Lake Turkana in a delta just south of the delta formed by the
Turkwel and
Lokichar rivers.
The Kerio and Turkwel contribute 98% of the river water flowing into Lake Turkana on Kenyan territory (which makes up only 2% of the total riverine inflow). In their lower courses both these rivers are seasonal.
Near its source the Kerio River is fed by two major tributaries flowing down Elgeyo Escarpment: Arror River, and Embobut River.
Land use
The Lake Kamnarok National Reserve and
Kerio Valley National Reserve lie on the east and west sides of the Kerio River in the upper valley. They are undeveloped, but have abundant birdlife and are known for their scenery.
The left bank of a section of the river is in the
South Turkana National Reserve.
In 1999 there were allegations that Fluorspar Mines was dumping toxic waste into the river. These were denied by the responsible Minister for Mineral Exploration.
The main locations in
Turkana District for irrigated agriculture are along the Turkwel and Kerio rivers. The Lotubai and Morulem irrigation schemes are on the Kerio.
The main crops are maize and sorghum, which account for 80% of irrigated crops, as well as green grams, cowpeas, bananas, mangoes, oranges and guavas.
Gallery
File:KerioRiver-Dry.JPG, Kerio River during dry season. Riverbed is silty and easily erodes during storm events.
File:KerioRiver-Well.JPG, Hand dug well in riverbed.
File:KerioRiver-Flowing-Nakor.JPG, Kerio River flowing after heavy rainstorm.
See also
*
Biretwo
*
List of rivers of Africa
This is a list of rivers in Africa. See below each river's article for its tributaries, drainage areas, etc.
Southern Africa
* Cuanza - Angola
* Great Fish River - South Africa
* Great Kei River - South Africa
:* Black Kei River - South Africa ...
*
Turkana people
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana County in northwest Kenya, a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburu people to the south, Uganda to the west, and South Sudan and Ethiopia ...
References
Sources
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Great Rift Valley
Rivers of Kenya
Tributaries of Lake Turkana
{{Kenya-river-stub