What is Lake Turkana famous for?
Lake Turkana is famous for it’s greenish-blue colours, hence the nickname the Jade Sea. It is the largest alkaline lake in the world. Lake Turkana is 300 Km long and 50 Km wide, which also makes it the largest lake in Kenya (although, Lake Victoria which is shared with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is larger).
What is the former name of Lake Turkana?
Lake Turkana (/tɜːrˈkɑːnə, -ˈkæn-/), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia.
What lives in Lake Turkana?
The lake sustains 60 species of fish which are much sought-after by anglers, including tiger, cat and puffer fish, tilapia and Nile perch. Turkana is the most saline of all the freshwater Rift Valley Lakes. Also numerous in the lake are Nile crocodiles, which have numbers in their thousands.
Does Lake Turkana have an outlet?
The mean retention time of water in the lake is a short 12.5 years (Kolding 1992). The salinity of Lake Turkana is higher than that of any other large African lake. This is due to the fact that the lake has no outlet, and that it has contracted in volume over the last 7,500 years.
Why is Lake Turkana green?
Surrounded by arid and barren land in east Africa, Lake Turkana is the largest permanent desert lake in the world. It is sometimes referred to as the Jade Sea due to its green color, a result of abundant algae.
Why is Turkana Boy important?
The ‘Turkana Boy’ skeleton has allowed scientists to find out a lot of information about body size, body shape, and growth rates of Homo erectus. Although he had a disability which hindered his movement, his body shows long legs and narrow shoulders typical of humans who live in hot, dry climate today.
Is Lake Turkana fresh or salty water lake?
Lake Turkana possesses water that is saline, which means it contains salt. The lake is also known for its high alkalinity. An alkaline liquid has a pH of higher than 7. According to Cerling, Lake Turkana’s water is 9.3 to 9.4 on a pH scale.
Why is Lake Turkana salty?
Lake Turkana possesses water that is saline, which means it contains salt. The lake is also known for its high alkalinity. An alkaline liquid has a pH of higher than 7. He explains how the lake’s position in a rift valley contributes to its salinity and alkalinity.
When did they find Turkana Boy?
1984
In 1984, the Leakey team found an almost-complete fossilized skeleton that was dated to about 1.5 million years ago. This was a Homo erectus and is famously known as “Turkana Boy.”
How old was Turkana human?
This specimen is the most complete early hominin skeleton ever found. It was discovered in 1984 by Kamoya Kimeu on the bank of the Nariokotome River near Lake Turkana in Kenya. Estimates of the individual’s age at death range from 7 to 11 years old.
What does Turkana Boy represent in terms of human evolutionary history?
The ‘Turkana Boy’ skeleton has allowed scientists to find out a lot of information about body size, body shape, and growth rates of Homo erectus. This skeleton is 40% complete, based on the principle that bones from one side of the body can tell what the same bone from the other side looked like even if it’s missing.
What did Turkana Boy look like?
The overall KNM-WT 15000 skeleton still had features (such as a low sloping forehead, strong brow ridges, and the absence of a chin) not seen in H. sapiens. However, there are significant defining characters, such as bigger brain size (880 cc). The arms and legs are slightly longer indicating effective bipedality.