Geography of Kenya
Where is the country of Kenya located on world map? According to COUNTRYAAH.COM, Kenya is an independent nation located in Eastern Africa. Kenya celebrates its independence day on December 12, commemorating the country’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. The formal name of Kenya is The Republic of Kenya and its national symbols include a flag with three horizontal stripes in black, red and green, an escutcheon featuring a shield with an image of two crossed spears above it, and the national seal which features an image of a shield with two lions supporting it. The national anthem is called “Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu” which celebrates the country’s struggle for independence. The national flower is the African Violet while the national animal is the Lion. Kenya also has an official motto: “Harambee” which means “Let us all pull together”. See historyaah for Kenya history.
Nature
Terrain shapes and bedrock
Kenya’s oldest bedrock is found at the far west, on Lake Victoria. The rocks here were formed early during the Precambrian. The area is predominantly petty. On the border with Uganda lies the extinct volcano Mount Elgon (4,321 m above sea level), which is Kenya’s second highest mountain.
To the east of the Victoria area, take the so-called White Highlands, which are built up by tertiary lavor, weathered to fertile soils. Huge fault slopes, including Mau Escarpment, delimits this area to an eastern part of the East African rift system, in which several extinguished or dormant volcanoes are encountered, e.g. Longonot and Suswa. In the sink lies Lake Nakurus, which is a soda lake. Here are also the lakes Turkana, Baringo and Naivasha.
To the east, the East African rift system is bounded by, among other things, Nyandarna Mountains (Aberdeen Mountains), a shield volcano with peaks close to 4,000 m above sea level. In this area is also Kenya’s highest mountain Mount Kenya (5,200 m above sea level), a extinguished volcano whose peaks have small glaciers. The area, which is the eastern part of the White Highlands, turns east into a large area of dry savannas. Here the bedrock consists mostly of Precambrian gneisses, which have weathered down to plains with inselbergs.
The easternmost part of Kenya consists of a poorly educated cuesta landscape with rocks belonging to the Carroose series. On the Indian Ocean, beach cliffs and dunes are found alongside the long sandy beaches. There is also a coral reef, which in its places reaches a width of 1 km.
- AbbreviationFinder: Offer a full list of commonly used abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms related to the state of Kenya.
Climate
Kenya’s climate is characterized by the monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean and partly by the altitude over the sea. Nairobi at 1,700 meters above sea level has an average temperature of about 17 °C, while Mombasa on the Indian Ocean has about 27 °C. Most of Kenya has two rainy times during the year. The long rains last from April to May and the short rains come in November. Rainy periods are caused by rainy easterly winds. The land is dry to lie at the equator.
Plant Life
The flora comprises between 8,000 and 9,000 species of vascular plants. Along the coast there are beach-close coral reefs with a lot of marine veneerogames, eg. Cymodoceʹa ciliaʹta (family Cymodoceaʹceae, related strap-plants) and rich algal flora. Here and there in protected locations there are mangroves, dominated by a few species, i.e. of the genus Rhizoʹphora. The lowland closest to the coast is intensively cultivated but has remnants of natural vegetation with trees of e.g. genus Brachylaena [-lɛ: ʹ-] (family of flowering plants). Most of the country’s surface, especially the eastern half, has open vegetation (different types of bushland and grassland) with shrubs (for example, many thorny species of incense trees) and sparsely standing trees, often acacias and the species Balaniʹtes aegyptiʹaca (family of thistle thistle plants). Only after rain is the soil covered with annual grasses and herbs. Despite the meager impression during most of the year, vegetation can be very rich. The driest areas in the north are semi-desert or desert-like.
In the west, between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level. where the cultivation has not completely penetrated more native vegetation, there is open forest (woodland) which is largely kept even more open (wooded grassland) through pasture and regular grass fires. Here, perennial grasses, mostly millet and livestock relatives, dominate. Dense forest (forest) is mainly between 2,000 and 3,500 meters above sea level. It is evergreen and has a rich and intricate zoning, with elements of the tree-growing species Juniʹperus proceʹra in drier locations and the rose plant species often dominating in moist. As a break in the forest there are large belts of a bamboo species, Arundinaʹria alpiʹna. On the highest mountains, there is a belt of afroalpine vegetation above the forest. tree-shaped species of the genus Seneʹcio and bushy dewdrops.
Wildlife
The fauna is very rich, with many typical African mammals. There are just over 100 species of larger mammals, including about 40 species of ungulates. In the tropical forests around mountains and streams, there are colobus monkeys, among others. eastern black and white guereza (Coʹlobus guereʹza), market carpets, galagos, forest pigs and diving antelopes.
In the nyikan (dry savannah) in eastern Kenya and on tree and park savannahs there are pointed rhinos (about 400 left in Kenya), giraffes, kudu antelopes, impala, firebrand and thomson gazelle. In Kenya there are 35,000-40,000 elephants.
On the open grasslands there are herds of ungulates, among others. striped wildebeest, eland antelopes, cantaloupes, African buffalo and common zebra. Anubis baby (Paʹpio anuʹbis) and savanna baby (Papio cynoceʹphalus) are common in their places. In the semi-deserts in the northeast, there are, among other things. grevysebra, and at the estuaries of the coasts are found dugong.
Seven species of cat animals are found in Kenya, including lion, leopard and horse. Lashes and spotted hyena are common, while hyena dogs have declined sharply.
More than 1,000 species of birds are found in Kenya, including African ostrich, secretary bird, marabo stork and other storks as well as stairs, guinea fowl, francolines, weavers and rhinoceros. In several lakes, including Lake Nakuru, there are large colonies of flamingos and pelicans. crab-plover. In some places along the coast there are coral reefs with rich wildlife. Among the reptiles, chameleons, mamboras, cobras, puff spikes and cliff surfaces are common.
Nature conservation
In 2010, Kenya had 21 national parks, including three marinas. Some of the more well-known are Tsavo (20 800 km 2) and Amboseli in the south as well as Mount Kenya, Meru and Lake Nakuru in central Kenya. Overall, 12% of the country’s area was protected.
