The Kerio River is a river in
Turkana County,
Kenya. It flows northward into
Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a 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. B ...
. It is one of the longest rivers in Kenya, originating near the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
.
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
The Turkwel River (sometimes spelled Turkwell River) is a river flowing from Mount Elgon on the border of Kenya and Uganda to Lake Turkana. The river is called the Suam River from its source to the border at West Pokot County of Kenya. The name ...
and
Lokichar
Lokichar is a small town in Kenya's Turkana County.
Lokichar is situated in the heart of the dusty and arid Turkana basin (desert) in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley, 550 km north-east of Nairobi.
Until 2010 it was a forgotten back ...
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 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
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
.
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
*
Biretwo
*
List of rivers of Africa
*
Turkana people
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Great Rift Valley
Rivers of Kenya
Tributaries of Lake Turkana
{{Kenya-river-stub