Map of Rift Valley
Rift Valley is a first-level division of Kenya. Its largest mapped city is Nakuru, with about 364,727 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Rift Valley, and the tables list its 12 mapped cities along with the mountains, lakes, World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 12
- Largest City
- Nakuru
- Country
- Kenya
- Highest Point Mapped
- 5,199 m
Interactive Map of Rift Valley
About Rift Valley
Rift Valley Province (Swahili: Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the 2013 Kenyan general election.
Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces in Kenya. It was dominated by the Kenya Rift Valley which passes through it and gave the province its name. According to the 2009 Census, the former province covered an area of 182,505.1 square kilometres (45,098,000 acres; 70,465.6 sq mi) and would have had a population of 10,006,805, making it the largest and most populous province in the country. The bulk of the provincial population inhabited a strip between former Nairobi and Nyanza Province. The capital was the town of Nakuru.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Rift Valley Province (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rift Valley in Depth
Geography
The Great Rift Valley runs south through Kenya from Lake Turkana in the north and has several unique geographical features, including the Elgeyo escarpment which is a popular tourist attraction.
Apart from the Rift Valley itself, the area has other important geographic features such as: the extinct volcanoes Mount Longonot and Mount Suswa and Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Magadi, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, the Suguta Valley, and Lake Turkana.
Economy
The highlands provide adequate rainfall for farming and agriculture which is the economic base of the residents of the Rift Valley. Tea from the highlands in the Kericho district enjoys a worldwide reputation, but horticulture is an important part of the district's economy and cattle raising is also practised to a large extent.
The full economic potential of the Rift Valley region is, however, far from fully exploited, though the current growth in population and improved education may change this in a near future.
Geology
A large part of Kenya is underlain by Precambrian basement, while the Kenya rift basin (a typical extensional basin) hosts Tertiary volcanics that cover Mesozoic sediments (Recently these sediments have been considered for oil exploration). The sedimentary basins evolved along the Anza trough during the Late Paleozoic to Early Tertiary times through extension tectonics during the major Gondwanaland breakup. In the Miocene Period, the region underwent intermittent uplift and subsidence along major boundary faults accompanied by a large outpouring of lava flows. The Anza trough intersects the modern rift valley in the area of Lake Turkana. Rifting still continues today; primarily in the north, where active volcanoes are more plentiful.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Rift Valley Province (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rift Valley: Key Facts
| Population | 10,006,805 (2009) |
|---|---|
| Area | 182,505 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q38587 (CC0).
History of Rift Valley: Empires and States
The atlas records 4 polities whose mapped territory included part of Rift Valley, from British Africa in 1895 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| British Africa | 1895–1960 CE |
| The British Empire | 1895–1962 CE |
| British East Africa | 1961–1968 CE |
| Republic of Kenya | 1963–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Rift Valley
Rift Valley on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Largest Cities in Rift Valley
12 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nakuru | 364,727 | Rift Valley | Admin-1 capital |
| 2 | Eldoret | 353,381 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 3 | Kitale | 150,495 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 4 | Kericho | 98,852 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 5 | Sotik | 71,285 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 6 | Naivasha | 43,983 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 7 | Nanyuki | 36,142 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 8 | Maralal | 20,841 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 9 | Lodwar | 20,219 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 10 | Eldama Ravine | 17,581 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 11 | Namanga | 13,193 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
| 12 | Konza | 2,004 | Rift Valley | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Rift Valley
3 mountains mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Kenya | 5,199 m | 17,057 ft | Africa |
| 2 | Mount Elgon | 4,321 m | 14,177 ft | Africa |
| 3 | Lesatima | 4,001 m | 13,127 ft | Africa |
Largest Lakes in Rift Valley
1 lake mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Turkana | 7,747 km² | Alkaline Lake |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Rift Valley
2 World Heritage Sites mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Turkana National Parks | 1997 | Natural | (viii) (x) |
| 2 | Mount Kenya National Park | 1997 | Natural | (vii) (ix) |
Rift Valley: Quick Answers
- Where is Rift Valley?
- Rift Valley is a first-level division of Kenya, in Africa. Its mapped cities centre on 0.0380° S, 36.0092° E.
- What is the largest city in Rift Valley?
- Nakuru is the largest city mapped in Rift Valley, with a metropolitan population of about 364,727.
- How many cities are in Rift Valley?
- YearMaps maps 12 cities and towns in Rift Valley, with a combined metropolitan population of about 1.19 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
- What is the highest mountain in Rift Valley?
- The highest summit mapped in Rift Valley is Mount Kenya at 5,199 m.
- What is the largest lake in Rift Valley?
- The largest lake mapped in or beside Rift Valley is Lake Turkana, at about 7,747 km².