   #copyright

Lake Turkana

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Geography

                 Lake Turkana (Jade Sea)
   Lake Turkana (Jade Sea) - View over Lake Turkana

                           View over Lake Turkana

   Coordinates       3°3′N 36°1′E
   Lake type         Saline
                     Monomitic
                     Alkaline
                     Endorheic
   Primary sources   Omo River
                     Turkwel River
                     Kerio River
   Primary outflows  Evaporation
   Catchment area    130,860 km²
   Basin countries   Ethiopia
                     Kenya
   Surface area      6,405 km²
   Average depth     30.2 m
   Max-depth         109 m
   Water volume      203.6 km³
   Surface elevation 360.4 m
   Settlements       El Molo

   Lake Turkana, formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great
   Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end of the lake crossing
   into Ethiopia. It covers a surface area of 6405 km² (2473 mi²), making
   it the world's largest permanent desert lake. It is also the world's
   largest alkaline lake. The area is hot and very dry. The rocks of the
   surrounding area are predominantly volcanic. On-shore and off-shore
   winds can be extremely strong as the lake warms and cools more slowly
   than the land. Three rivers (the Omo, Turkwel and Kerio) flow into the
   lake, but lacking outflow, the only water loss is by evaporation.
   Despite this, the water level of the lake fell by 10 meters between
   1975 and 1993.

   The main town on the lakeshore is Loyangalani, while smaller
   settlements include Kalokol, Eliye Springs and Ileret in Kenya, and
   Fort Banya in Ethiopia.

   The lake was named Lake Rudolf (in honour of Crown Prince Rudolf of
   Austria) by Count Samuel Teleki and Lieutenant Von Höhnel in 1888, and
   renamed Lake Turkana in 1975. The area has been preserved by its
   remoteness and still sees few Western visitors, being a three-day drive
   from Nairobi. Local people are predominantly of the Gabbra, Rendille
   and Turkana tribes. One of the villages adjacent to the lake is El
   Molo. The Turkana refer to the lake as anam Ka'alakol, meaning the sea
   of many fish. It is from the name Ka'alakol that Kalokol, a town on the
   western shore of Lake Turkana, east of Lodwar, derives its name.
   Satellite image of Lake Turkana
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of Lake Turkana

   Lake Turkana, sometimes referred to as the Jade Sea, contains Nile
   perch, a handful of obscure and pelagic cichlids of the genus
   Haplochromis and tilapia, and formerly contained Africa's largest
   population of Nile crocodiles: 14,000 breed on Central Island. The
   presence of water in such an arid area makes the region internationally
   important as a staging post for migrating birds. Lions, cheetah and
   giraffe as well as many other species of mammal live in the area.
   Elephants and rhinoceros are no longer seen, although Teleki reported
   seeing (and shot) many. Lake Turkana National Parks are now listed as a
   UNESCO World Heritage Site. Siboloi National Park lies on the lake's
   eastern shore, while Central Island National Park and South Island
   National Park lie in the lake. Both are known for their crocodiles.

   Around 2 million–3 million years ago, the lake was larger and the area
   more fertile, making it a centre for early homonids. Richard Leakey has
   led numerous anthropological digs in the area which have led to many
   important discoveries of hominin remains. The two-million-year-old
   Skull 1470 was found in 1972. It was originally thought to be Homo
   habilis, but some anthropologists have assigned it to a new species,
   Homo rudolfensis, named after the lake. In 1984, the Turkana Boy, a
   nearly complete skeleton of a Homo erectus boy was discovered by Kamoya
   Kimeu. More recently, Meave Leakey discovered a 3,500,000-year-old
   skull there, named Kenyanthropus platyops, which means "The Flat-Faced
   Man of Kenya".

The lake in popular culture

   The lake is featured in Fernando Meirelles's film The Constant
   Gardener, which is based on the book of the same name by John le Carré,
   although some of the footage was actually filmed at Lake Magadi.

   In the Kim Basinger movie I Dreamed of Africa (2000), the lake is
   briefly mentioned early in the film as Lake Rudolf and later as Lake
   Turkana.

   The lake is also featured in the video game series Xenosaga as being
   the location of an excavation to discover the original Zohar and the
   Anima Relics.

   In his book "A Lifetime with Lions", George Adamson (best known from
   the movie Born Free) describes various adventures along Lake Turkana,
   including a harrowing attempt to cross it in a makeshift raft.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Turkana"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
