Kitale is a town in the north west of Kenya, in the former

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

province, between

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

and the

Cherangany Hills The Cherang'any Hills are a range of hills in the western highlands of Kenya. The hills are one of Kenya's five main forests and catchment areas. The highlands, the large central plateau, is divided by the Mau Escarpment which rises from the bord ...

. It has an elevation of around . Its population was as of 2019. It is the location of

Kitale Airport Kitale Airport is an airport in Kitale, Kenya. Location Kitale Airport is located in the town of Kitale, Trans-Nzoia County, in northwestern Kenya, close to the International border with the Republic of Uganda. Its location is approximately ...

. The National Museum of Western Kenya in Kitale is a

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

Location

Kitale lies between

and Cherang'any Hills is 72.3 km (44.9 mi) by road north west of

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

History

In 1920, Arthur Champion, the colonial district commissioner, established a new administrative centre in the Trans Nzoia region, at the future site of the township of Kitale. In 1930, locusts caused extensive damage to crops.

Climate

Kitale has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb'') very closely bordering on ''Cwb''.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Trans-Nzoia County Rift Valley Province Cities in the Great Rift Valley County capitals in Kenya