Lake Bogoria National Reserve is in the

Great Rift Valley, Kenya The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues no ...

, covering

Lake Bogoria Lake Bogoria (formerly Lake Hannington) is a saline, alkaline lake that lies in a volcanic region in a half-graben basin south of Lake Baringo, Kenya, a little north of the equator. Lake Bogoria, like Lake Nakuru, Lake Elementeita, and Lake Ma ...

and the land immediately surrounding the lake. It is administered by the

Kenya Wildlife Service Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation ...

Location

The lake lies in a trough below the Ngendelel Escarpment, a sheer wall high. The lake covers . It is geothermically active on the western shore, with geysers and hot springs. The geologist J.W. Gregory described the lake in 1892 as "the most beautiful view in Africa". The reserve is in a semi-arid area. The only major river feeding the lake is the

Waseges River The Waseges River, or Sandai River, is a river in Kenya. Its source is on the slopes of the Nyandarua Plateau below the Aberdare Range; it ends its course in Lake Bogoria. In 2002 rubies were found in the region of the Waseges River. Course The ...

, which rises on the northern slopes of the

Aberdare Range The Aberdare Range (formerly the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: ''Nyandarua'') is a long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It straddles the counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Murang'a, Kiambu and ...

. The Waseges runs through productive agricultural land higher up, through bush and scrub used for grazing, and then through very dry bush before entering the lake at its northern end. The lake is surrounded by grasslands dotted with bushes. There is acacia-ficus woodland to the south, and the north merges into a papyrus swamp. The park was opened in November 1970. Facilities for tourists include the park lodge, three public campsites and one privately operated campsite. Visitors may also bathe in the hot springs, which form a natural spa. The reserve was submitted as a candidate for

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1999.

Ecology

The lake is alkaline, feeding blue-green algae which in turn feed flamingoes. At times the number of flamingoes feeding in the lake may be as high as two million. Raptors such as tawny eagles prey on the flamingoes. In total, 135 species of bird have been recorded. They include little grebe, pratincole, swift, little bee-eater, cape wigeon, yellow-billed stork, African spoonbill, augur buzzard, gabar goshawk, water dikkop, great tit, starling, hornbill and crombec. The reserve has a herd of the relatively uncommon

Greater Kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a large woodland antelope, found throughout East Africa, eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory (animal), territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas d ...

. Other large mammals include buffalo, zebra, cheetah, baboon, warthog, caracal, spotted hyena, impala and dik dik. The Waseges flows through regions of intensive coffee cultivation where heavy use is made of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which may be polluting the lake. Many visitors are attracted to the hot springs on the western lakeshore, and these cause pollution from solid wastes. Siltation is another threat to biodiversity.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Great Rift Valley, Kenya Protected areas of Kenya Protected areas established in 1970