|
BARINGO , a lake ofSee also: British See also: East See also: Africa, some 30 M
.
N. of the equator in the eastern rift-valley
.
It is one of a chain of lakes which See also: stud the floor of the valley and has an See also: elevation of 3325 ft. above the See also: sea
.
It is about 16 m. long by 9 broad and has an irregular outline, the See also: northern See also: shore being deeply indented
.
Its See also: waters are brackish
.
Fed by several small streams it has no outlet: The largest of the See also: rivers which enter it, the Tigrish and the Nyuki, run See also: north through a flat marshy country which extends See also: south of the lake
.
This See also: district, inhabited by the See also: negro tribe of Njamusi, was by the first explorers called Njemps
.
It is a fertile grain-growing region containing two considerable villages; The Njamusi are peaceful agriculturists who show marked friendliness to Europeans
.
N. of the lake rise the Karosi hills; to the E. the See also: land rises in terraces to the edge of the Laikipia escarpment
.
A characteristic of the country in the neighbour See also: hood of the lake are the " hills " of the termites (See also: white ants)
.
They are hollow columns ro to 12 ft. high and from r ft. to 18 in. broad
.
The greater
See also: kudu, almost unknown elsewhere in East Africa, inhabits the flanks of the Laikipia escarpment to the east of the lake and comes to the See also: foot-hills around Baringo to feed
.
The existence of Lake Baringo was first reported in See also: Europe by Ludwig Krapf and J
.
Rebmann, See also: German missionaries stationed at See also: Mombasa, about 185o; in J
.
H
.
Speke's map of the See also: Nile See also: sources (1863) Baringo is confused with See also: Kavirondo Gulf of See also: Victoria Nyanza; it figures in See also: Sir H
.
M
.
See also: Stanley's map (1877) as a large See also: sheet of See also: water N.E. of Victoria Nyanza
.
See also: Joseph See also: Thomson, in his journey through the See also: Masai country in 1883, was the first white See also: man to see the lake and to correct the exaggerated notions as to its See also: size
.
Native tradition, however, asserts that the lake formerly covered a much larger See also: area
.
|
|
|
[back] BARING |
[next] BARISAL |
There are no comments yet for this article.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.
Links to articles and home page are encouraged.