Kenya-Lake Turkana National Parks

Lake Turkana, also known as Jade Sea for its bright colors, is situated in Kenya and comprises three national parks, Sibiloi National Park, Central Islands National Park and South Islands National Park. 249km in length, 44km in width and 30m in depth, it is the fourth largest lake in Africa and the most saline of Africa’s Rift Valley lakes. It is ecologically significant as it serves as a habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Extensive paleontological finds at Kobi Fora include Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis with the latter serving as evidence for the existence of a relatively intelligent hominid two million years ago. It also reflects on the change in climatic conditions over time from moist forest grassland, when the now petrified forests were growing, to the present hot desert. Other pre-human and human fossils found include Austrolophithecus anamensis, Homo habilis/rudolfensis, Paranthropus boisei, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens all of which were found within one locality. These discoveries are significant as they add to our understanding of the evolutionary history of the human species. The Lake has also contributed to our understanding of pre-human mammals, molluscan and other fossil remains of the human past and the palaeo-environme