The Mara River basin covers a surface of 13,504 km2, of which approximately 65% is located in Kenya and 35% in Tanzania.[1] 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. 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 (2932 m), 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 in Mara Region Tanzania: Just after the Mara River flows out of Ikorongo Game Reserve (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, and is therefore functionally and ecologically related to the socio-economic activities in Lake Victoria and along the River Nile.[citation needed]
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 transboundary 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.[citation needed]
Mara river in Narok County
The Mara's effectsedit
The river is a vital source to grazing animals within the reserve. 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.[1][2]
^Jim K. Kairu, "Biodiversity Action Plan for Sustainable Management: Mara River Basin" (WWF, 2008)
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mara River.
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
January 01, 1970
mara, river, this, article, about, african, river, romanian, river, măra, river, canadian, river, nunavut, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, materia. This article is about the African river For the Romanian river see Măra River For the Canadian river see Mara River Nunavut This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mara River news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Mara River is a river in that begins in Narok County Kenya and in ends in Mara Region Tanzania and lies across the migration path of ungulates in the Maasai Mara Serengeti ecosystem citation needed Mara RiverThe Mara River in KenyaMara River bottom LocationCountryKenyaCountyNarok CountyCountryTanzaniaRegionMara RegionPhysical characteristicsSourceMau escarpment locationNarok County Kenya elevation3000MouthLake Victoria locationMara Region Tanzania coordinates1 30 50 S 33 55 56 E 1 51389 S 33 93222 E 1 51389 33 93222Length395 km 245 mi Basin size13 504 km2 5 214 sq mi Bridges on the border of Kenya and Tanzania Hippo with calf Mara River Kenya Contents 1 The River s flow 2 The Mara s regions 3 Altitudes and ranges 4 The Mara s effects 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThe River s flow editThe Mara River basin covers a surface of 13 504 km2 of which approximately 65 is located in Kenya and 35 in Tanzania 1 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 The basin can be roughly divided into four land use and or administrative units The Mara s regions editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Mau Escarpment The Mara River originates from the Napuiyapi swamp 2932 m 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 in Mara Region Tanzania Just after the Mara River flows out of Ikorongo Game Reserve 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 and is therefore functionally and ecologically related to the socio economic activities in Lake Victoria and along the River Nile citation needed Altitudes and ranges editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 transboundary 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 citation needed nbsp Mara river in Narok CountyThe Mara s effects editThe river is a vital source to grazing animals within the reserve 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 1 2 See also editNile River Nzoia River Yala River Nyando River Maasai Mara Serengeti National Park Mara Region Narok CountyReferences edit Jim K Kairu Biodiversity Action Plan for Sustainable Management Mara River Basin WWF 2008 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mara River 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mara River amp oldid 1216020905, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
