26 March 2007

Lake Turkana


By its very existence, the windswept expanse of Lake Turkana is something of a miraculous anomaly. Situated in the arid lands of northwestern Kenya, it is the largest permanent desert lake in the world. Roughly 150 miles long and 25-40 miles wide, it occupies a clearly delineated trough in the Northern Rift Valley, lying mainly in Kenya but with its marshy northern end jutting into Ethiopia.

The climate is harsh, with a mean annual rainfall of under 10 inches and a merciless hot wind which blows almost constantly. Mid-day temperature is typically 104 degrees!

The lake contains the world's largest population of Nile crocodiles, of which some 12,000 were estimated to be breeding on Central Island in 1981; there are no recent figures available.




It was so hot while Kim and I were at the lake, that we sat in the shade of a dilapidated shack the whole time. We enjoyed watching this guy wash his laundry. The whole time he did so, he quietly sang a song to himself.




This little guy and his buddy thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they played with their homemade boats. We also took much delight in observing them. As I took this photo, the father yelled at me. He thought I only took it because the boy was naked. Kim had to do some fast talking to calm him down.


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