LAKE VICTORIA - RIVER NYANDO BASIN

Hydrology

The general drainage pattern of this area is controlled by the level of Lake Victoria in the west, which now stands at approximately 1,138 meters a.s.l., and the peak of the Tinderet Volcano at 2,930 m a.s.l in the north-eastern portion of the basin. The 1,300 meter contour line approximately delineates the edges of the Nandi and Mau escarpments. At the base of the scarps numerous streams cut deeply through poorly sorted beds of coarse gravel, sands and sandy clays in the Kano plain. Steep hydrological gradients occur in this area with long slopes in excess of 20 degree inclination.

Soils

Soils in the Kano plain are primarily derived from Holocene sedimentary deposits. Luvisol, Vertisol, Planosol, Cambisol and Solonetz types are common, often in saline or sodic phases (Andriesse and van der Pouw, 1985). Upland soils are derived from a wide variety of parent materials including phonolites, quartzites, nephelinites, granitoid gneisses and intrusives such as dolorites, monzonites and granidiorites (Binge, 1957), which are representative of a large part of the Kenyan portion of the Victoria Lake Basin. Predominant soil types include Ferrasols, Nitisols, Cambisols and Acricsols (Andriesse and van der Pouw, 1985). 

The Lake Victoria Basin

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