CLIMATIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
Kenya is an African country cut in two by the Equator. There are three very different types of climate: hot and humid along the coast, temperate in the west and south-west where mountains and plateaus are found, torrid and arid in the north and east. In general, the hottest period in Kenya is from February to March, while the coldest is from July to August, although the seasonal variations in temperature are few. The temperature and rainfall vary according to the winds. There are two rainy periods: the "long rainy season" from March to May, and the "short rainy season" from October to December.
In northern Kenya there are desert areas, and in the central south highlands, with forests and savannas. The country is crossed by long mountain chains. The morphological element that most characterizes Kenya is the Rift Valley, which crosses it from north to south. The coastal strip is over 400 km long. In the center there are peaks between 1,500 and 3,000 meters high. On the sides of the Rift Valley there are volcanoes, the largest of which is Mount Kenya (5 199 m). Also high is the Kilimanjaro (5 358 m).
The two main rivers of Kenya are, the Tana and the Galana, which go into the Indian ocean. The largest lake in the country is Turkana, since only a small portion of Lake Victoria belongs to the territory of Kenya; Lake Turkana has brackish waters and numerous islands emerge there. Kenya is famous for the numerous presences of animals of any size, from large predators to small herbivores. There are antelopes, zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, giraffes, ostriches, monkeys, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, herons, flamingos and others.
