Lake Turkana is the most saline lake in East Africa and the largest desert lake in the world, surrounded by an arid, seemingly extraterrestrial landscape that is often devoid of life. It is Africa’s fourth largest lake, fondly called the Jade Sea because of its breathtaking color. It drops down along the Kenya Rift Valley from the Ethiopian border, extending 249 kilometers from north to south and 44 km at its widest point with a depth of 30 meters. This single body of water is over 250 km long making it longer than the entire Kenyan coast.
History
Turkana has one of the longest living histories on earth, and recent fossil evidence unearthed at Koobi Fora has led to the Lake being referred to as ‘The Cradle of Mankind’. At Koobi Fora to the north of Alia Bay, extensive palaeontological finds have been made, including the evidence of the existence of a relatively intelligent hominid 2 million years ago (reflecting the change in climate from that supporting moist forest grasslands to present-day desert). These human fossils include the remains of Australopithecus robustus , Homo habilis , Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . Other findings include a wide diversity of ancestors of modern animal species. There are over 100 archaeological sites.
Lake Turkana National Parks
Lake Turkana National Parks are constituted of Sibiloi National Park, the South Island and the Central Island National Parks, covering a total area of 161,485 hectares located within the Lake Turkana basin whose total surface area is 7 million ha. Gazetted as a National Park in 1973; Central Island National Park was established in 1985. The three National Parks serve as a stopover for migrant waterfowl and are major breeding grounds for the Nile crocodile, hippopotamus and a variety of venomous snakes.
The area is characterized by a semi-desert habitat. The open plains are flanked by volcanic formations including Mount Sibiloi, the site of the remains of a petrified forest possibly 7 million years old. The Central Island (500 ha), in the middle of Lake Turkana is a volcanic island with scrubby salvadora bush. Central Island has a breeding population of African skimmer, which nests in banks. It is also an important staging post for migrating birds including warblers, wagtails and little stints. The lake shore is mostly rocky or sandy, with little aquatic vegetation. Grassy plains with yellow spear grass and Commuphera and Acacia species predominate.
Mammals include Burchell’s and Grevy’s zebras, Grant’s gazelle, Beisa oryx, hartebeest, topi, lesser kudu, lion, cheetah and crocodiles. Lake Turkana is an important flyway for north-bound migrants. A total of over 350 species of aquatic and terrestrial bird have been recorded in Lake Turkana.