Kenya is a part of the African Great Lakes region and its lakes are fundamental to the nation’s biodiversity.

The African Great Lakes region includes several countries which surround the African Great Lakes, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Of the African Great Lakes, Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana are partly located within Kenya.

Kenya is home to 64 lakes and the nation contains 9.5% of Africa’s lakes. A chain of 8 lakes is found within Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and none of these lakes have a clear outflow.

The lakes have high rates of evaporation and salts and minerals have built up within them. Only 2 of these lakes contain fresh drinking water.