Mara River

The course of the Mara

Aerial view of the Mara in the Masai Mara, Kenya

The Mara River is a river in East Africa. with a length of 395 km. Its catchment area is 13,325 km ².

It rises in Kenya near the town of Nakuru in the Abuya - marshes of the Mau forest, which lies to the east of the Rift Valley Province. From there it flows through the Masai Mara Game Reserve in southwestern Kenya. After he crossed the border to Tanzania, it flows west and crosses the northern part of the Serengeti. He he opens into a spacious march, the Masurua swamps, into Lake Victoria.

The Mara leads the only river in the Serengeti National Park all year round water and thus ensure the survival of huge herds of wild ungulates ( wildebeests, zebras, antelopes ) during the dry season.

Since the 70s, the river has lost 60 % of its outflow, which is due in part to strong deforestation in the headwaters.

The seasonal mass crossing the river by the wildebeest has already been described in several documentaries. The river also offers numerous bird species habitat.