Kenya lies astride the equator on the eastern coast of Africa. Kenya is bordered in the north by Sudan and Ethiopia, in the east by Somalia, on the southeast by the Indian Ocean, on the southwest by Tanzania and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda.
Kenya is notable for its' geographical variety. The low-lying, fertile coastal region, fringed with coral reefs and islands, is back by a gradually rising coastal plain, a dry region covered with savanna and thornbush.
At an altitude of about 1,524
m and 300 miles inland, the plain gives way in the
southwest to a high plateau, rising in parts to 3,048
m, in which about 85% of the population and the majority
of economic enterprise are concentrated. The northern
section of Kenya, forming three-fifths of the whole
territory, is arid and of semidesert character, as
is the bulk of the southeastern quarter. In the high
plateau area, known as the Kenya Highlands, lie Mt.
Kenya (5,200 m), Mt Elgon (4,322m) and the Aberdare
Ranger (rising to over 3,963 m). The plateau is bisected
from north to south by the Rift Valley, part of the
great geological fracture that can be traced from
Syria through the Red Sea and East Africa to Mozambique.
In the north of Kenya, the valley is broad and shallow,
embracing Lake Turkana (160 miles long), while further
south it narrows and deepens and is walled by escarpments
610 to 930 mtr high. West of the Rift Valley, the
plateau descends to the plains that border Lake Victoria.
The principal rivers are the Tana and the Athi, flowing
southeast to the Indian Ocean, the Ewaso Ngiro flowing
northeast to the swamps of the Lorian Plain, and the
Nzoia, Yala and Gori, which drain eastward into Lake
Victoria. Low plains rise to central highlands, divided
by the Great African Rift Valley.
IMMIGRATION (VISA)
All visitors
must be in possession of a valid passport. Visa requirements
vary from time to time and are dependent on the nationality
of the visitor. Citizens of commonwealth countries
do not require visa. All incoming visitors to Kenya
(except East African Citizens) will now require a
visa, irrespective of nationality.