Mara River - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article describes the Mara River in Africa. For the river in northern Canada, see Mara River (Nunavut)
Mara River (Nunavut)
The Mara River is a river in Nunavut which flows into the Burnside River to empty into Bathurst Inlet on the Arctic Ocean. It flows north from headwaters at Nose Lake and is in length.-See also:*List of rivers of Nunavut...

.

The Mara River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, flowing through Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, and lies across the migration path of ungulate

Ungulate

Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive...

s in the Serengeti

Serengeti

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E. It spans some ....

/Masai Mara

Masai Mara

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania...

game reserves.

The Mara River basin covers a surface of 13,504 km2, of which approximately 60% is located in Kenya and 40% in Tanzania. From its sources in the Kenyan highlands, the river flows for about 395 km and originates from the Mau Escarpment and drains into Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

. The basin can be roughly divided into four land use and/or administrative units:

The Mau Escarpment: The Mara River originates from the Napuiyapi swamp (2932m), with the main perennial tributaries being the Amala and the Nyangores, which drain from the western Mau Escarpment. This part of the basin supports besides forests, both small scale agriculture (less than 10 acres) and medium-size farms (often tea farms up to 40 acres).

The Kenyan Rangelands: In this area, the Amala and Nyangores rivers flow out of the Mau Escarpment and converge to form the Mara River. The River then meanders further through open savannah grasslands that is mostly governed by Maasai group ranches and used as pasture for livestock and for both small — and large-scale agriculture (more than 40 acres). The basins of four important tributaries to the Mara (the Talek, Engare, Sand and Engito rivers) are also located in this area, together with some upland areas like the Loita Hills.

The Protected areas: Eventually the river flows into the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve, where it merges with three of the four mentioned tributaries. On the Kenyan-Tanzanian border, the river flows into the Serengeti National Park and is joined by the fourth major tributary: the Sand (or Longaianiet) River. In these wildlife parks human activity is restricted to wildlife viewing.

Downstream Tanzania: Just after the Mara River flows out of Ikorongo Game Reserve

Ikorongo Game Reserve

The Ikorongo Game Reserve is a game reserve in Tanzania. The reserve was established in 1993. The site has an area of .-References:ikorongo game reserve is situated in mara region on north western side of the serengeti national park.covers an area of 3000 square km forming a larger serengeti mara...

(which borders Serengeti National Park) it meanders sharply northwards. At the location where the river meanders into the southwestern direction again the main channel is lost in different streams, which feed the downstream Mara wetlands. These streams and wetlands continue for about 70 kilometres downstream. In this part of the basin human and livestock densities are high and small-scale subsistence agriculture is the main land use. The Mara River basin is one of the ten drainage basins that feed into Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

, and is therefore functionally and ecologically related to the socio-economic activities in Lake Victoria and along the River Nile.

The altitudes in the basin range from 2,932 m around the sources in the Mau Escarpment to 1,134 m around Lake Victoria. The amount of precipitation varies according to these altitudes. The Mau Escarpment receives most rainfall with a mean annual rainfall between 1,000 and 1,750 mm. The transboundery middle savannah grasslands receive an average between 900 and 1,000 mm, and the Kenyan lower Loita hills and the area around Lake Victoria only about 700 and 850 mm rain per year. On top of this
rainfall variability in space, the region is also known for its rainfall variability in time, which means that the different areas all receive variable amounts of rainfall over the year. The rainfall seasons are bi-modal, with the long rains starting in mid-March to June with a peak in April, while the short rains occur between September and December.

The river is a vital source to grazing animals nearby. Although during the dry season it may often appear shallow, it may swell to up to twice its normal size after heavy rainfall. This can create rapids in the river, which may lead to shortage of food for predators that cannot cross the river to hunt.

During the previous decades the seasonal water quantities in the Mara have changed significantly in the sense that are now higher peaks and lows in the river flow. These dynamics are associated with changes in land use in the catchments area: decreasing vegetation covers are causing a faster run-off of rainwater. Near the river mouth in Tanzania, the rapidly fluctuating water levels in Lake Victoria of the previous century have further added to discharge difficulties of the Mara River. Consequently, floods have become more common and large parts of the Tanzanian Mara wetlands have become more permanent instead of temporary wetlands.

External links

gabepalacio.com: Mara River virtual Tour (requires Quicktime plugin)
The Mara Triangle The Mara River defines the boundaries of the Mara Triangle in the Masai Mara
Serengeti Mara River flows from Masai Mara into Serengeti

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.