XIX THE RIFT VALLEY AND ITS LAKES 247 
square studded with pools smelling of sulphur and 
yellow patches of discoloured grass. There are nearly 
fifty pools, extending to and under the surface of the 
lake. The largest pool had a diameter of ten feet, and 
the water is clear and more than twenty feet deep and the 
bubbles could be seen rising from the bottom. Some of 
the smaller pools throw out an intermittent jet of steam 
and others are continuously on the boil. On a hill-side 
behind the springs there is a steam vent, which hisses 
and booms incessantly. When visiting them it is the 
usual custom to catch some of the fishes which abound 
in the lake and cook them in one of the hot springs. 
This form of amusement is well-known to tourists who 
visit the famous lake in the Yellowstone Park. 
Most travellers who have visited Lake Baringo express 
the opinion that great changes have taken place in its 
physical conformation. The northern end of the lake 
contains partly submerged trees. Powell-Cotton states 
that some of the older natives remember when it was 
possible to walk from the southern end of the lake to 
the islands, where now there is comparatively deep 
water. 
The country around this lake may be described as the 
hunter’s paradise. It abounds in large animals, in¬ 
cluding elephants, and swarms with flies and gnats. 
When Major Powell-Cotton visited the island in the 
lake (in 1902) the natives were worried by baljoons, 
which came around the huts and helped themsejves to 
food in spite of all remonstrance. The islanders begged 
him to shoot some of the hooligans, but they were 
cunning and kept out of the way. 
Lake Hannington. This lake is situated at a point 
where the Rift Valley begins its northern descent. The 
lake, which contains salt water, is concealed in a rift 
under the Laikipia escarpment, so that it was overlooked 
by the early explorers. The north end of the lake is 
separated from Lake Baringo by a marshy district, and, 
as Sir Harry Johnston points out, it is conceivable that 
