KAKAMEGA FOREST

Kakamega Forest is a tropical rainforest situated in the Kakamega, Vihiga, and Nandi County of Kenya, northwest of the capital Nairobi, and near the border with Uganda. It is Kenya's only tropical rainforest and is said to be Kenya's last remnant of the ancient Guineo-Congolian rainforest that once spanned the continent.The forest lies on undulating terrain, mostly between 1500 and 1600 meters elevation. It is in the watershed of the Isiukhu and Yala rivers, which originate on the Nandi Escarpment to the east and flow westwards through the forest before emptying into Lake Victoria.The forest including reserves encloses about 238 square kilometers, a little less than half of which currently remains as indigenous forest. In the north of the forest is the 4,468 hectares (45 km²; 17 sq mi) Kakamega National Reserve, given national forest reserve status in 1985. Just to the north is the Kisere Forest Reserve. Throughout the forest are a series of grassy glades, ranging in size from about 1 to 50, with a few larger clearings. The origins of the glades are uncertain. Some are certainly recent clearings, but others predate recent records. These may have originated from past human activity such as cattle grazing or may be the result of herbivory and movements by large mammals such as buffalo and elephants (both now extirpated from the region). The glades vary a great deal in structure, some being open grass and others having a considerable number of trees or shrubs. A number of streams and small creeks run through the reserve. The larger creeks are usually bordered by a few to tens of meters of forest on either side which divide the glades, while the smallest creeks flow through open grasslands, often forming small marshy patches.