General Country Description
Kenya is the World’s 48th largest country (after Botswana and Madagascar). In country comparison, Kenya is larger than Germany, Sweden, Japan, UK, UAE, Cuba and South Korea. In Size comparison, it is slightly smaller than the state of Texas, US.
The country, believed by scientists to be the cradle of humanity due to the discovery of some of the earliest fossils ever excavated dating back to about 2 million years ago. It’s also one of the most agriculturally productive countries; producer and supplier of finest coffee and tea in the world market.
In Hebrew, Kenya is a Baby girl name meaning "animal horn," and is geogrpahically part of “the horn of Africa” which surprisingly looks like a rhinoceros horn.
Location
The horn of Africa is located on the eastern seaboard of the African continent and shares a common border with 5 other nations. The shape of the country resembles that of a T-shirt on display or a harp. It lies across the equator at latitude of 4° North to 4° South and Longitude 34° East to 41° East. It is bordered by Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, by Somalia to the north-east, while the Indian Ocean borders it to the east and the south-east. To the southwest of the country lies Tanzania while to the west of the country borders Lake Victoria and Uganda.
Statistical Data
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and TanzaniaGeographic coordinates: 1°00′N 38°00′E / 1°N 38°E / 1; 38
Area
Total: 580,367 km2 (224,081 sq mi)
Land: 569,140 km2 (219,750 sq mi)
Water: 11,227 km2 (4,335 sq mi)
Land boundaries
Total: 3,477 km (2,161 mi)
Border countries: Ethiopia 861 km (535 mi), Somalia 682 km (424 mi), Sudan 232 km (144 mi), Tanzania 769 km (478 mi), Uganda 933 km (580 mi)[1]
Coastline
Length: 536 km all along the Indian Ocean.
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
Other Categories
Diversity
Nature has been good to Kenya. The country has a very diverse, varied and well featured geography containing almost every known landform. It is usually termed as “cool,” “calm” and “wild” – depending on your “stand-point!” Habitat for Abundant Wildlife, Mountains to Climb,Fossils to find, Coral Beaches, Deserts, Waterfalls, Fragrant plants and flowers to touch and smell, National Parks and game reserves for the adventurer at heart, Ancient cities (Ptolomy mentions Mombasa) for spooks and Vast Savannahs for lovers on nature – all are found here.
Variations in altitude are extreme and so too are the contrasts in climate. Kenya has considerable land area of wildlife habitat, including the Masai Mara, where Blue Wildebeest and other bovids participate in a large scale annual migration. The "Big Five" animals of Africa are also found here: the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant population.
Elevation
The Kenyan coast is a low-lying area, which is extremely fertile. It has a coral reef and is supported by a dry coastal plain that is covered by thorny bushes and savanna. In general one can say, that the country stretches from the sea level in the east to the snow capped mountain in the north. The terrain of the country gradually changes from the low-lying coastal plains to the Kenyan highlands. The highest point of the country lies in Mount Kenya, which is 5,199 meters high. Apart from this, the other mountain ranges that one can find over here include Mount Elgon and Mount Kilimanjaro.
