XIX THE RIFT VALLEY AND ITS LAKES 245 
Lake Nakuru. This picturesque lake lies in a basin 
5845^41es above sea level, 57 miles from Lake Naivaslia. 
It is surrounded in parts by high rocky precipices and 
receives the water of the Enderit, Little Enderit, and a 
third stream enters it on the north. The water is salt; 
the amount of solids it contains must be great for the 
shore is covered with a thick deposit of soda. Lake 
Nakuru has been a much more extensive sheet of water 
than it is to-day. During the time my camp was near 
it I made a careful examination of the wide area of 
sloping ground to the north of the lake and found it 
composed of alluvial debris, the favourite resort of many 
burrowing animals. 
On the northern shore there is a thick reed-belt, a 
thicket of acacia-trees, and excellent grass. The neigh¬ 
bourhood of the lake abounds in abrupt precipices sur¬ 
mounted with candelabra euphorbias, aloes, and aca¬ 
cias. The thickets and reed-beds afford cover for many 
animals, and its brackish waters are the resort of huge 
flocks of birds. 
Lake Baring 0 . This body of fresh water has an 
altitude of 3325 feet : it is 18 miles long and 10 broad 
situated in a flat district. It receives the rivers Tigrish 
and the lower Molo (Nyuki). Much uncertainty existed 
concerning the position, the condition, and even the 
actual existence of Baringo as a separate lake until 
Thomson visited it in 1883. He described it as an 
isolated basin of no great size, but exquisitely charming 
with its pretty isles. 
The lake contains fishes, crocodiles, and hippopota¬ 
muses. The neighbourhood of the lake abounds in 
zebras, antelopes, jackals, baboons, and hyaenas. 
Thomson observes that one of the most remarkable 
facts about Baringo is the large amount of water it 
receives even in the dry season without rising in level 
to any extent, or finding an outlet. In the wet season 
the level of the lake rises very little, probably not more 
than two feet, yet the water remains sweet. 
