The Kerio River is a river in
Turkana County
Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is home to the Turkana people. It is Kenya's
largest county by land area of 77,597.8 km2 followed by Marsabit County with an area of 66,923.1 km2. It is bord ...
,
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. It flows northward into
Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana () is a saline lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. By volume it is the world ...
. It is one of the longest rivers in Kenya (about ), originating near the
equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
.
Course
The Kerio River rises on the north slopes of the Amasya Hills to the west of Lake Bogoria.
It flows northward through the
Kerio Valley between
Tugen Hills and
Elgeyo Escarpment.
The Elgeyo Escarpment rises to over above the Kerio valley in places.
The Kerio continues northward, often through deep and narrow valleys, to enter Lake Turkana in a delta just south of the delta formed by the
Turkwel and
Lokichar rivers.
The Kerio and Turkwel contribute 98% of the river water flowing into Lake Turkana on Kenyan territory (which makes up only 2% of the total riverine inflow). In their lower courses both these rivers are seasonal.
Near its source the Kerio River is fed by two major tributaries flowing down the Elgeyo Escarpment: Arror River, and Embobut River.
Land use
The Lake Kamnarok National Reserve and
Kerio Valley National Reserve lie on the east and west sides of the Kerio River in the upper valley. They are undeveloped, but have abundant birdlife and are known for their scenery.
The left bank of a section of the river is in the
South Turkana National Reserve.
In 1999 there were allegations that Fluorspar Mines was dumping toxic waste into the river. These were denied by the responsible Minister for Mineral Exploration.
The main locations in
Turkana District for irrigated agriculture are along the Turkwel and Kerio rivers. The Lotubai and Morulem irrigation schemes are on the Kerio.
The main crops are maize and sorghum, which account for 80% of irrigated crops, as well as green grams, cowpeas, bananas, mangoes, oranges and guavas.
Gallery
File:KerioRiver-Dry.JPG, Kerio River during dry season. Riverbed is silty and easily erodes during storm events.
File:KerioRiver-Well.JPG, Hand dug well in riverbed.
File:KerioRiver-Flowing-Nakor.JPG, Kerio River flowing after heavy rainstorm.
See also
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Biretwo
Biretwo is a settlement in Kenya's Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Ethnicity
The people of the Rift Valley are a mesh work of different tribal identities, and the Kalenjin and the Maasai are two of the best known ethnic groups. Most of Kenya's top ...
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List of rivers of Africa
*
Turkana people
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana County in northwest Kenya, a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburu people to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-w ...
References
Sources
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Great Rift Valley
Rivers of Kenya
Tributaries of Lake Turkana
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