Lake Turkana Aerial Photo
Location of Turkana County (Green) including the disputed Elemi Triangle (light green)
|Formed||March 4th 2013|
|• Governor||Joseph Nanok|
|• Total||71,597.8 km2 (27,644.1 sq mi)|
|Elevation||1,138 m (3,734 ft)|
|Time zone||EAT (UTC+3)|
Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Turkana is the largest and also the north-western most county in Kenya. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan and Ethiopia, including the disputed Ilemi Triangle, to the north and northeast; and Lake Turkana to the east. To the south and east, neighbouring counties in Kenya are West Pokot, Baringo and Samburu Counties, while Marsabit County is located on the opposite (i.e. eastern) shore of Lake Turkana.
Four sites of Stone Age cultures are situated upon tributaries along the west side of Lake Turkana in West Turkana; at Lokalalei, Kokiselei and Nadung, and became of interest to archaeology beginning sometime during 1988.
The earliest late Stone age industries date to 12,000 b.p.
Direct influence by colonial forces, in the form of pacification within the district began in 1900 and ended in 1918.
During 1926 the entire Turkana people were subjugated to a body of the British military who subsequently restricted their movements to an area of Kenya, forcing these to settle in the area known now as the Turkana County.
During 1958 the district experienced an influx of a number of people classified as belonging to the Turkana people expelled from the Kenyan settlement Isiolo town to be forcibly relocated to the Turkana district by persons of the then British colonial administration.
The district maintained an all but complete isolation from influences of any other countries peoples until the time during 1976 when road-blocks on entering the district were ceased.
The people of the north of the county were reported (2000) endangered by marauding Ethiopians and consequently forced to settle in southerly locations.
The land is known in the local language as Aturksven.
Some place names in the country are attributed to the language of the Pokot and Samburu peoples, representing a tradition in the area of inhabitation by these peoples prior to displacement by the Turkana.
The county is within the boundaries of the former Rift Valley province.
According to data provided during 1991 the majority of the population at that time lived by way of farming.
Turkana County is emerging to be a major source of electric power in Kenya. Kengen's Turkwel Hydro Power Plant, situated on the southwest of Turkana County, produces hydroelectric power which is connected to the national power grid at Lessos. The county is current subject of crude oil exploration in Block 10BB and Block 13T and has potential for geothermal, solar and wind energy.
Kekarongole and Katilu had irrigation networks made commencing sometime during or after 1975.
There were thirteen drought periods in a period of 50 years beginning 1938.
On 26 March 2012, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced that oil had been discovered in Turkana County after exploratory drilling by Anglo-Irish firm Tullow Oil, and he further stated that
|“||It is... the beginning of a long journey to make our country an oil producer, which typically takes in excess of three years. We shall be giving the nation more information as the oil exploration process continues.||”|
According to Barrett (2001) cited in Watson the wealth of a person is kept in the form of cattle.
Figures stated as of 1998 stated an average estimated herd size of 15-20.
In 2013 it was announced by UNESCO that large reserves of groundwater had been discovered in Turkana County. The water was discovered using satellite exploration technology then confirmed by drilling.
|Local authorities (councils)|
|* 1999 census. Source: |
|* 1999 census. Sources: |
The county has three constituencies:
- Mombasa County
- Kwale County
- Kilifi County
- Tana River County
- Lamu County
- Taita Taveta County
- Garissa County
- Wajir County
- Mandera County
- Marsabit County
- Isiolo County
- Meru County
- Tharaka Nithi County
- Embu County
- Kitui County
- Machakos County
- Makueni County
- Nyandarua County
- Nyeri County
- Kirinyaga County
- Muranga County
- Kiambu County
- Turkana County
- West Pokot County
- Samburu County
- Trans Nzoia County
- Uasin Gishu County
- Elgeyo Marakwet County
- Nandi County
- Baringo County
- Laikipia County
- Nakuru County
- Narok County
- Kajiado County
- Kericho County
- Bomet County
- Kakamega County
- Vihiga County
- Bungoma County
- Busia County
- Siaya County
- Kisumu County
- Homa Bay County
- Migori County
- Kisii County
- Nyamira County
- Nairobi County
- B S Blades, B Adams - Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies John Wiley & Sons, 12 May 2009 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 1405168374
- C R Ewen -Artifacts Rowman Altamira, 1 Apr 2003 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0759100225
- (secondary) D Waugh - Geography: An Integrated Approach ISBN 017444706X Retrieved 1994
- C Ehret, M Posnansky - The Archaeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History University of California Press, 1982 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0520045939
- T G Grenham - The Unknown God: Religious And Theological Interculturation Peter Lang, 2005 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 3039102613
- S Williams - Ian Hodder (ed) - The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings Cambridge University Press, 6 Aug 1987 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0521329248
- Merriam-Webster dictionary online
- V Broch-Due, R A Schroeder - Producing Nature and Poverty in Africa Nordic Africa Institute, 2000 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 9171064524
- D McNeill, S D Duncan, J Cassell, E T Levy - Gesture and the Dynamic Dimension of Language: Essays in Honor of David McNeill John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2007 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 9027228418
- Traditional Occupations of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples: Emerging Trends International Labour Organization, 2000 Retrieved 2012-07-08
- P. H. Gulliver - The Family Herds: A Study of Two Pastoral Tribes in East Africa, the Jie and Turkana Routledge, 31 Jan 2003 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0415176468
- NC Dorian - Investigating Obsolescence: Studies in Language Contraction and Death Cambridge University Press, 3 Sep 1992 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0521437571
- N Middleton, P O'Keefe - Disaster And Development: The Politics of Humanitarian Aid Pluto Press, 20 Nov 1997 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0745312241
- W Critchley - Looking After Our Land: Soil and Water Conservation in Dryland Africa p.45- Oxfam, 1991 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0855981709
- B Calas, CA Mumma Martinon - Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities: Hydropolitics in East Africa African Books Collective, 30 Nov 2010 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 9987080928
- C Ehret, M Posnansky -
- W Critchley
- S Boinski, P A Garber - On the Move: How and Why Animals Travel in Groups University of Chicago Press, 15 May 2000 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 0226063399
- "Kenya oil discovery after Tullow Oil drilling". BBC. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- Watson, D.J., Binsbergen, J. van - Review of VSF-Belgium's 'Turkana emergency livestock off-take' intervention 2005 ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD), 2008 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 9291462098
- Watson, D.J. - Community farmer field school animal health facilitators: hybridizing private animal health care and capacity building in remote pastoralist areas ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD) Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 9291462276
- P Bonnet - Dromadaires et chameaux, animaux laitiers / Dromedaries and Camels, Milking Animals Editions Quae, 1 Jan 1998 Retrieved 2012-07-08 ISBN 2876143070
- "Strategic groundwater reserves found in Northern Kenya" (news release). UNESCO Media Services. September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- Nicholas Kulish (September 11, 2013). "Huge Aquifers Are Discovered in North Kenya". The New York Times. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- Map of the district