{{Short description|Arid part of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox valley | name = Suguta Valley | other_name = | photo = Suguta ali 2011010 lrg.jpg | photo_width = | photo_caption = Satellite view of the valley. [[Namarunu]] in lower left, [[Lake Logipi]] towards the upper right. | photo_alt = | map = Kenya |relief=1 | map_width = | map_alt = | map_caption = | label = | label_position = | coordinates = {{coord|2.091058|N|36.513748|E|type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = | location = | elevation = | elevation_m = 300 | elevation_ft = | elevation_ref = {{sfn|NASA Earth Observatory}} | direction = | length = | width = | area = | depth = | type = | age = | boundaries = | topo = | towns = | traversed = }} The '''Suguta Valley''', also known as the Suguta Mud Flats, is an arid part of the [[Great Rift Valley, Kenya|Great Rift Valley]] in [[Kenya]] (Africa), directly south of [[Lake Turkana]].
==Location==
The Suguta valley today is one of the driest parts of Kenya, with annual rainfall below {{convert|300|mm|in}}. [[Lake Logipi]] seasonally fills a small part of the northern end of the valley. The valley has a relatively flat floor about {{convert|300|m|ft}} above sea level. It is bordered by land to the east and west rising to {{convert|1000|m|ft}} and dotted with volcanic cinder cones. The [[Barrier Volcano]], a broad volcanic complex, separates the valley from Lake Turkana.{{sfn|NASA Earth Observatory}} [[Mount Ngiro]] rises to the east of the Suguta valley.{{sfn|Walking Jade Sea Journey}} The [[Losiolo Escarpment]], rising {{convert|2000|m|ft}} above the valley floor on the east side near [[Maralal]] provides one of the most dramatic views of the Kenyan rift valley.{{sfn|Trillo|2002|pp=606-607}} [[Namarunu]], a volcano active in historic times, extends into the valley from the western wall.
The Suguta Valley lies along the axis of the [[Gregory Rift]], which has been faulting in this area since the [[Pliocene]] along a belt {{convert|35|km}} wide. The belt lies between the Ngiro basement uplift to the east and the [[Loriu Plateau]] to the west and is thicker in the eastern part. Exposed volcanic rocks include [[basalt]]s, [[tuff]]s and [[Volcanic ash|ash]] formed between 4.2 and 3.8 million years ago, the products of [[Trachyte|trachytic]] volcanism from 3,8 to 2.6 million years ago and basaltic and [[alkali basalt]]ic rocks created from that period until the present. In the early Pliocene the least horizontal stress direction - the direction of rift expansion - was NW-SE.{{sfn|Bosworth|Maurin|1993|pp=751-762}}
==Hydrology==
[[Lake Suguta]] once filled the valley, at times overflowing into Lake Turkana. The lake level rose and fell several times in the last 18,000 years due to changes in rainfall during the [[African Humid Period]] that lasted from 14,800 to 5,500 years ago. The lake level began to drop about 8,000 years ago, falling by {{convert|250|m|ft}}.{{sfn|NASA Earth Observatory}}
The valley is drained by a seasonal stream, the [[Suguta River]], which in the rainy season forms the temporary Lake Alablad, a [[playa lake]] that combines with Lake Logipi at the northern end of the valley. In the dry season saline hot springs help maintain water levels in Lake Logipi, which is about {{convert|3|m|ft}} to {{convert|5|m|ft}} at its greatest depth, about {{convert|6|km|mi}} wide and {{convert|3|km}} wide.{{sfn|Mathea|2009|p=18}}
==Ecology==
The saline waters provide food for cyano-bacteria and other plankton, which in turn are food for [[flamingo]]es.{{sfn|Mathea|2009|p=18}} Due to the inaccessibility and harsh climate, with high temperatures, only the most determined tourists visit the site.{{sfn|Sugutu Valley Crossing}} The valley is used as a hide-out by [[Pokot people|Pokot]] and [[Turkana people|Turkana]] cattle rustlers. It is considered a "no go" region by the police due to the extremely harsh environment and familiarity of the rustlers with the terrain.{{sfn|Kiarie|2011}}
==November 2012 Police Killings== {{Main|Baragoi Clashes}}
In November 2012 over 40 [[Kenya Police]] officers and reservists <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nation.co.ke/News/How-I-survived-raid-that-killed-42-policemen-/-/1056/1627176/-/2vkty6z/-/index.html|title = How I survived raid that killed 42 policemen}}</ref> were killed in the Suguta Valley near [[Baragoi]] while on a mission to recover stolen cattle.
==References== {{Reflist |colwidth=30em}}
==Sources== {{Refbegin}} *{{cite journal |url=http://jgs.geoscienceworld.org/content/150/4/751.abstract |title=Structure, geochronology and tectonic significance of the northern Suguta Valley (Gregory Rift), Kenya |first1=W. |last1=Bosworth |first2=Andre |last2=Maurin |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |date=August 1993 |volume=150 |issue=4 |pages=751–762 | doi = 10.1144/gsjgs.150.4.0751 |bibcode=1993JGSoc.150..751B |s2cid=129109081 |url-access=subscription}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/archives/specialreports/InsidePage.php?id=2000045328&cid=259& |title=Kenyan mountain and valley are havens for bandits |work=The Standard |date=2011-10-21 |first=Joe |last=Kiarie |access-date=2011-12-29}} *{{cite web |url=http://wldb.ilec.or.jp/data/ilec/WLC13_Papers/others/5.pdf |first=Chege David |last=Mathea |title=OUR LAKES, OUR FUTURE |date=November 1, 2009 |publisher=International Lake Environment Committee Foundation |access-date=2011-12-29}} *{{cite web |ref={{harvid|NASA Earth Observatory}} |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76430 |title=Suguta Valley, Kenya |date=November 20, 2011 |last=NASA Earth Observatory |access-date=2011-12-29}} *{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Sugutu Valley Crossing}} |url=http://www.bigearth.com/location/suguta-valley-crossing/ |title=Sugutu Valley Crossing |work=Big Earth |access-date=2011-12-29}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99x5ea1Gq-cC&pg=PA606 |title=Rough guide to Kenya |first=Richard |last=Trillo |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2002 |isbn=1-85828-859-2}} *{{cite web |ref = {{harvid|Walking Jade Sea Journey}} |url = http://www.wildhorizonsafaris.com/itinerary/jade_sea_journey.html |title = Walking Jade Sea Journey |publisher = Wild Horizons |access-date = 2011-12-29 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120426081400/http://www.wildhorizonsafaris.com/itinerary/jade_sea_journey.html |archive-date = 2012-04-26 }} {{Refend}}
[[Category:Great Rift Valley]] [[Category:Masai xeric grasslands and shrublands]] [[Category:Valleys of Kenya]]