The Shompole Conservancy is a large privately operated conservation area in the south of the
Great Rift Valley, Kenya.
It is located between
Lake Magadi
Lake Magadi is the southernmost lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, lying in a catchment of faulted volcanic rocks, north of Tanzania's Lake Natron. During the dry season, it is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including f ...
to the north and
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a salt or alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The lake is within the Lake Natron Basin, a Ramsar Si ...
to the south, two alkaline lakes.
The conservancy is in the
Magadi
Magadi is a Taluk headquarters located in Ramanagara district. The town is situated at a distance of 51 km from Bangalore. The founder of Bangalore, the great Kempegowda was a native of Kempapura, Magadi taluk. Magadi, having a rich cultur ...
division.
The lodge is at the end of the
Ngurumani escarpment, about from Lake Natron on the border between Kenya and Tanzania.
The conservancy covers part of the Shompole group ranch, registered in 1979 and owned by the Loodokilani Maasai with over 2000 registered members.
The lodge was closed in September 2011 while the owners discussed its future and that of the conservancy with the local
Maasai Maasai may refer to:
* Maasai people
*Maasai language
* Maasai mythology
* MAASAI (band)
See also
* Masai (disambiguation)
* Massai
Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...
community.
The conservancy has a dry climate, hottest in October and November and most likely to be wet in April and May.
Flora are adapted to semi-arid conditions and include
umbrella thorn trees and the colorful
toothbrush tree.
The main source of water is the
Ewaso Ng'iro
Ewaso Ng'iro, also called Ewaso Nyiro, is a river in Kenya which rises on the west side of Mount Kenya and flows north then east and finally south-east, passing through Somalia where it joins the Jubba River. The river's name is derived from t ...
(Brown River) which originates in the Mau forest to the north and flows into Lake Natron. There are riverine thickets along the banks of the river.
Wildlife include giraffe, buffalo, elephants and desert antelope such as gerenuk and oryx.
References
Sources
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{{Great Rift Valley, Kenya
Tourist attractions in Kenya
Parks in Kenya