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THE RIFT VALLEY AND ITS LAKES 
In the preceding chapter it was stated that the Rift 
Valley consists of a western and an eastern arm ; along 
the floor of each there is a chain of lakes. When 
these lakes are compared with each other an ex - 
amination of their contours shows that there are two 
kinds : some, like the Albert Nyanza and Tanganyika, 
are long and trough-like ; others are rounded, like Lake 
Naivasha. The long and narrow lakes resemble fiords 
with high precipitous sides. Such are often called 
cistern-lakes. The best examples of this kind lie in the 
western arm of the Rift Valley, and include Lakes 
Albert, Albert Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika, and Nyasa. 
The Lake Chain in the eastern arm of the Rift Valley 
concerns us most. In this set we have Lakes Naivasha, 
Elementeita, Nakuru, Baringo, Rudolf (Basso Narok), and 
many smaller collecrions of water in the valley which 
have received distinctive names. At the southern end 
of its eastern arm the floor of the Rift Valley has an 
altitude of 2,500 feet. It rises gradually as it extends 
northward to the equator; at Naivasha the floor of the 
valley is 6,300 feet above sea-level: it then falls to 
3,325 at Lake Baringo, and Lake Rudolf is only 1,250 
feet above the level of the sea. 
Lahe Naivasha .—This lake, situated at an altitude 
of 6,300 feet, was discovered by Fischer (1883). 
The lake is somewhat quadrilateral, twelve miles 
long and nine broad : it is comparatively shallow. The 
water is supplied by the Rivers Gilgil and Murundat. 
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