CHAPTER X 

 3IETE0B0L0GY AND GEOLOGY 



IN the consideration of climate and temperature the Uganda Protectorate 

 may be divided into five regions : — 



(1) There is the extremely arid country at the relatively low altitude of 

 1,500 or 1,600 feet above sea level that stretches from near the north end 

 of Lake Baringo to the north end of Lake Rudolf, and includes the basin 

 of that lake and the surroundings of Lake Sugota. Here there is often 

 considerable vaiiation between the highest day and the lowest night 

 temperature. The day temperatures may reach such figures as 115" Fahr. 

 in the shade. (.)n the other hand, the night temperature, as so often 

 •occurs in desert countries, sinks rapidly to such figures as 50° in the 

 winter teason. The average temperature during the hot or summer half 

 of the year is probably 83° Fahr. During the winter season a cold, dry 

 wind often blows furiously from the north-east. The wind from this 

 quarter is always strong, cold, and dry throughout the eastern parts of the 

 Protectorate, and is much disliked by Europeans. The rainfall in the 

 Pudolf region is variable. .*^ome districts or patches of country may go for 

 two or three years without a dro]) of rain ; others may have a very heavy 

 fall, which, though raising the yearly average to a considerable figure, 

 is wasted, by its violent descent during a short space of time. To the 

 north-west and west of the lake, where the ground rises to a higher altitude, 

 the climate is altogether superior, the rain is a little more regular in its 

 descent, and the temperatures are not so high. 



(2) The Plateau Regicn. — This is practically confined to the portion 

 of the Kift Valley about Lake Naivasha and to the great Nandi Plateau, 

 though there are repetitions of this climate on the upper parts of Mount 

 Elgon and in small portions of Ankole ; perhaps also on one or two of the 

 higher mountains in the eastern part of the Nile Province. In this plateau 

 region the climate is well-nigh perfect. There is an abundant rainfall 

 (except, perhaps, near Lake Naivasha) of about 50 inches per annum, 

 distributed more generally throughout the year than is usually the case 

 in the tropics. The rainy months cannot be predicted with absolute 

 ■certainty, as the climate is somewhat fickle. Ordinarily, however, there 



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