The 700 kilometres long Tana River is the longest 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 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 gives its name to the Tana River District

Tana River District

Tana River District is a district of Coast Province, Kenya. It is named after the Tana River itself. It has an area of and a population of 180,901 according to the 1999 census. The district capital is Hola ....

. Its tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 include the Thika

Thika River

The Thika River flows through central Kenya and is a tributary of Tana River. The Thika River is a significant source of hydroelectric power in Kenya and provides most of the water supply for Nairobi, Kenya's capital and largest city....

. The river rises in the Aberdare Mountains to the west of Nyeri

Nyeri

Nyeri is a town in situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya Kenya, which was the administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province...

. Initially it runs east before turning south around the massif

Massif

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

 of Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...

. The river then runs into the Masinga Reservoir and Kiambere Reservoir's, created by the Kindaruma dam. Below the dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 the river turns north and flows along the north-south boundary between the Meru and North Kitui and Bisanadi, Kora and Rabole National Reserves. In the reserves the river turns east, and then south east. It passes through the towns of Garissa

Garissa

Garissa is a city in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is the capital of both the province and Garissa District.-Overview:Garissa is located at and has a population of 65,881 inhabitants . The Tana River flows through the city....

, Hola

Hola, Kenya

Hola, also known as Galole is a small town in Kenya on the Tana River with a population of 6932. Hola is the capital of the Tana River District, in the Coast Province. It is a busy market town, and portal to Ijara District and Northeastern province by local canoe ferry across the Tana River...

 and Garsen before entering the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 at Ungwana Bay.

External links

• Floods in East Africa at NASA Earth Observatory
  NASA Earth Observatory
  NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information pertaining to the climate and the environment which are being provided by NASA for consumption by the general public...