Lake Baringo

Freshwater

The Lake Baringo ( Lake Baringo ) is a lake in the eastern arm of the East African Rift and, like the Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake, while all the other lakes in the eastern arm of the trench are strongly alkaline. The name of the lake comes from the word Mparingo, which means as much as the lake in the language of the indigenous people of the Ilchamus.

Geography

The lake is in the eastern part of the East African grave breach ( Great Rift Valley). The lake has no surface drainage and an underground could not be detected so far. However, it is believed that he has an underground stream, and is about 50 km northerly hot springs at Silali volcano fed by the lake, as the water would otherwise spoil long. The hydrologic budget of the lake evaporation rates from 1650 to 2300 mm / yr and precipitation rates 450-900 mm / yr is extremely negative, as in all lakes of the East African Rift. The rainfall deficit is, however, similar in the basin of Lake Naivasha, balanced by the inflow of high rainfall heights of 6820 km ² large catchment ( rainfall 1100-2700 mm / yr ). Thus, the Lake Baringo is a freshwater lake like the Lake Naivasha, found in many of the fish. They serve as food for many birds.

The lake lies entirely in Kenya in Baringo District, Rift Valley Province, about 285 km north- northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Flora and Fauna

Special feature of the lake is the endemic tilapia ( cichlid ) Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis art. The lake is home to a remarkable variety of birds. In the lake there are numerous crocodiles and hippos. A special tourist attraction is the feeding of eagles cry with fish.

Environment

The lake level of Baringosees is subject to considerable fluctuations.

History

Presumably, in 1883 Joseph Thomson was the first European who saw the lake. Count Sámuel Teleki and Ludwig von Höhnel visited him in 1887 on their journey. Carl Peters visited the lake in 1890 as part of the Emin Pasha Expedition. He entered into an agreement with the residents on the lake to bring it under German control. The treaty was not ratified. 1893 took the geologist John Walter Gregory an expedition to Baringo, where he saw the rejection of the East African Rift. He suspected also the first that the lake has an underground stream.