Kenya, located in East Africa, is famed for its scenic landscapes and vast wildlife preserves. Its Indian Ocean coast has historically provided important ports through which goods from Arabian and Asian traders entered the continent for many centuries.
Along that coast, which holds some of the finest beaches in Africa, are predominantly Muslim Swahili cities such as Mombasa, a historic centre that has contributed much to the musical and culinary heritage of the country. Inland are populous highlands famed for both their tea plantations, an economic staple during the British colonial era, and their variety of animal species, including lions, elephants, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses.
Kenya’s western provinces, marked by lakes and rivers, are forested, while a small portion of the north is desert and semidesert. The country’s diverse wildlife and panoramic geography draw large numbers of European and North American visitors, and tourism is an important contributor to Kenya’s economy.
The capital of Kenya is Nairobi, a sprawling city that, like many other African metropolises, is a study in contrasts, with modern skyscrapers looking out over vast shantytowns in the distance, many harbouring refugees fleeing civil wars in neighbouring countries.
With a long history of musical and artistic expression, Kenya enjoys a rich tradition of oral and written literature, including many fables that speak to the virtues of determination and perseverance, important and widely shared values, given the country’s experience during the struggle for independence.
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Kenya’s many peoples are well known to outsiders, largely because of the British colonial administration’s openness to study. Anthropologists and other social scientists have documented for generations the lives of the Maasai, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, and Kikuyu peoples, to name only some of the groups. Adding to the country’s ethnic diversity are European and Asian immigrants from many nations.
Kenya is a multi-ethnic state with the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa.
Geography and Landscape
Bisected horizontally by the Equator and vertically by longitude 38° E, Kenya is bordered to the north by South Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia and the Indian Ocean, to the south by Tanzania, and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda.
The 38th meridian divides Kenya into two halves of striking contrast. While the eastern half slopes gently to the coral-backed seashore, the western portion rises more abruptly through a series of hills and plateaus to the Eastern Rift Valley, known in Kenya as the Central Rift. West of the Rift is a westward-sloping plateau, the lowest part of which is occupied by Lake Victoria.
Within this basic framework, Kenya is divided into the following geographic regions: the Lake Victoria basin, the Rift Valley and associated highlands, the eastern plateau forelands, the semiarid and arid areas of the north and south, and the coast.
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The Lake Victoria basin is part of a plateau rising eastward from the lakeshore to the Rift highlands. The lower part, forming the lake basin proper, is itself a plateau area lying between 3,000 and 4,000 feet (900 and 1,200 metres) above sea level. The rolling grassland of this plateau is cut almost in half by the Kano Plain, into which an arm of the lake known as Winam Gulf (Kavirondo Gulf) extends eastward for 50 miles (80 km).
The floor of the Kano Plain merges north and south into highlands characterized by a number of extinct volcanoes. These include Mount Elgon, rising to 14,178 feet (4,321 metres) at the Ugandan border on the extreme north of the basin.
The Rift Valley splits the highland region into two sections: the Mau Escarpment to the west and the Aberdare Range to the east. The valley itself is 30 to 80 miles (50 to 130 km) wide, and its floor rises from about 1,500 feet (450 metres) in the north around Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) to over 7,000 feet (2,100 metres) at Lake Naivasha but then drops to 2,000 feet (600 metres) at the Tanzanian border in the south.
The floor of the Rift is occupied by a chain of shallow lakes separated by extinct volcanoes. Lake Naivasha is the largest of these; the others include Lakes Magadi, Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo.
West of the valley the diverse highland area runs from the thick lava block of the Mau Escarpment-Mount Tinderet complex northward to the Uasin Gishu Plateau. East of the Rift the Aberdare Range rises to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). The eastern highlands extend from the Ngong Hills and the uplands bordering Tanzania northward to the Laikipia Escarpment.
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The eastern plateau forelands, located just east of the Rift highlands, constitute a vast plateau of ancient rocks gently sloping to the coastal plain. They are a region of scattered hills and striking elevated formations, the most prominent being the hills of Taita, Kasigau, Machakos, and Kitui. These hills, containing the area of more favourable climate, are surrounded by regions historically prone to famine.
The semiarid and arid areas in the north and northeast are part of a vast region extending from the Ugandan border through Lake Rudolf to the plateau area between the Ethiopian and Kenyan highlands. Although tree and grass cover is scanty there, the areas of true desert are limited to the Chalbi Desert east of Lake Rudolf. The movement of people and livestock is strictly limited by the availability of water.
The coastal plain proper, which runs for about 250 miles (400 km) along the Indian Ocean, is a narrow strip only about 10 miles (16 km) wide in the south, but in the Tana River lowlands to the north it broadens to about 100 miles (160 km). Farther northeast it merges into the lowlands of Somalia. The excellent natural harbours include that of Mombasa, which is one of the best in East Africa.
Drainage
Kenya’s drainage pattern originated when a large oval dome of rock arose in the west-central part of the country and created the Central Rift. This dome produced a primeval watershed from which rivers once drained eastward to the Indian Ocean and westward to the Congo River system and the Atlantic Ocean.
Still following this ancient pattern are the Tana and Galana rivers, which rise in the eastern highlands and flow roughly southeast to the Indian Ocean. West of the Central Rift, however, the major streams now drain into Lake Victoria. These include the Nzoia, Yala, Mara, and Nyando rivers.
Between the eastern and western systems, the rifting of the dome’s crust has created a complex pattern of internal streams that feed the major lakes. There are no major groundwater basins, and, apart from the Tana River, most of the rivers in Kenya are short and often disappear during the dry season.
Lake Victoria, with a surface area of 26,828 square miles (69,484 square km), is the largest lake in Africa, the second largest freshwater body in the world, and a major reservoir of the Nile River. Lake Rudolf, some 150 miles (240 km) long and 20 miles (30 km) wide, is the largest of the country’s Rift Valley lakes. Other lakes are rather small, and their surface areas fluctuate considerably.
Soils
In the Lake Victoria basin, lava deposits have produced fertile and sandy loam soils in the plateaus north and south of Winam Bay, while the volcanic pile of Mount Elgon produces highly fertile volcanic soils well known for coffee and tea production.
The Rift Valley and associated highlands are composed of fertile dark brown loams developed on younger volcanic deposits. The most widespread soils in Kenya, however, are the sandy soils of the semiarid regions between the coast and the Rift highlands. To the north of the Rift are vast areas covered by red desert soils, mainly sandy loams.
Kenya’s soils are subject to widespread erosion largely because of the lack of forest cover; overgrazing and cultivation, especially in the arid and semiarid regions, also contribute to soil loss.
Kenya's savanna is familiar from movies, TV shows, books, and commercials. It's the landscape many people imagine when they think of Africa.
Kenya is located in East Africa. Its terrain rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean to mountains and plateaus at its center.
Most Kenyans live in the highlands, where Nairobi, the capital, sits at an altitude of 5,500 feet (1,700 meters). West of Nairobi the land descends to the Great Rift Valley, a 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometer) tear in the Earth's crust.
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People and Culture
Kenya is home to a diverse range of music styles, ranging from imported popular music, afro-fusion and benga music to traditional folk songs. The guitar is the most popular instrument in Kenyan music, and songs often feature intricate guitar rhythms.
The most common religion is Christianity. Smaller groups of people follow Islam or traditional African religions.
Most Kenyans live in rural areas, but cities have grown rapidly since the early 1970s. Nairobi is the largest city. Most Kenyans are farmers who grow crops for their families. Corn is the main food crop. Kenya grows tea, flowers, and coffee to sell to other countries.
Manufacturers make flour from grains and sugar from sugarcane. They also produce beverages, petroleum products, cloth, paper, cement, and leather.
Tourism is an important part of Kenya’s economy. Many tourists visit Kenya to see its wildlife or to visit its beautiful beaches.
The people of Kenya belong to many different ethnic groups. The largest groups are the Kikuyu, the Luhya, the Luo, the Kalenjin, and the Kamba. There are also groups of nomads, or wanderers, such as the Masai. Each group has its own language and culture. Most people also speak English or Swahili as a second language.
For centuries, tribes throughout the country have used songs, stories, and poems to pass on their beliefs, history, and customs. Almost everyone there speaks more than one African language.
School is free in Kenya, but many children are too busy to go to classes. They help their families by working the land, tending cattle, cooking, or fetching water.
Apart from its national flag, Kenya does not have a national dress that transcends its diverse ethnic divisions. With more than 42 ethnic communities having their own traditional practices and symbols unique to them, this is a task that has proved elusive.
Kitenge is a cotton fabric made into colours and design through tie-and-dye and heavy embroidery. It is commonly worn by a number of Kenya's populations. Though also worn in many other African countries, Kitenge is yet to be accepted in Kenya as an official dress as it is only worn during ceremonies and non-official functions.
The Maasai wear dark red garments to symbolise their love for the earth and their dependence on it. The Kanga (Khanga, Lesso) is another cloth that is commonly worn in practically every Kenyan home.
Cuisine
There is no singular dish that represents all of Kenya's wide cuisine. Different communities have their own native foods. Staples are maize and other cereals depending on the region, including millet and sorghum eaten with various meats and vegetables.
The foods that are universally eaten in Kenya are ugali, sukuma wiki, and nyama choma. Sukuma wiki, a Swahili phrase which literally means "to push the week", is a simple dish made with greens similar to kale or collards that can also be made with cassava leaves, sweet potato leaves, or pumpkin leaves. Its Swahili name comes from the fact that it is typically eaten to "get through the week" or "stretch the week".
Nyama choma is grilled meat, which can be considered as an unofficial national dish-usually goat or sheep-while kuku choma is grilled chicken. It is usually cooked over an open fire.
Among the Luhya residing in the western region of the country, ingokho (chicken) with ugali is a favorite meal. In the Rift Valley, the Kalenjin have long made mursik, which they have with kimyet (ugali) and vegetable relishes such as isageek and "socheek".
As you travel around the country, distinct differences are noted based on what foods are locally available in each area. Grains are a staple food for groups that grow grains (e.g. Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, Kisii, etc.). Other communities such as the Luo and the Coastal community have fish and seafood for their staple food as these are available in such areas. As you move towards the city, foods eaten by working families vary according to preference and ethnicity.
History
For centuries African people along Kenya’s coast traded with Arabs from across the Indian Ocean. Europeans arrived in the area in the 1800s. By the 1890s the British had taken control of Kenya. They made it a British colony in 1920.
The British encouraged white people from Great Britain and South Africa to settle in Kenya. The British set aside much of the colony’s land for whites. As a result, the native people of Kenya grew angry at the British. In 1952 they began a rebellion. A group called the Mau Mau led the struggle.
Kenya became an independent country in 1963. In 1982 Kenya’s president, Daniel arap Moi, took stronger control of the country. Moi’s political party became the only legal party.
Other parties were allowed to participate in elections after 1991, but Moi continued to lead the country until 2002. Kenya still faced political problems after he stepped down. Violent protests erupted after the elections of 2007. In 2010 Kenya adopted a new constitution. It lessened the president’s power and gave the people a bill of rights.
The Wanga Kingdom was formally established in the late 17th century. The Kingdom covered from the Jinja in Uganda to Naivasha in the East of Kenya. The European and Arab presence in Mombasa dates back to the Early Modern period, but European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century.
During the wave of decolonisation in the 1960s, Kenya gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1963, had Elizabeth II as its first head of state, and Jomo Kenyatta as its Prime Minister. It became a republic in 1964, and was ruled as a de facto one-party state by the Kenya African National Union (KANU), led by Kenyatta from 1964 to 1978.
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