Talk:Lake Baringo

Flooding
The article reports that lake level has fallen in recent years due to water extraction. However, that is now history. Serious flooding has occurred in the past two years, with many displaced from their homes and local hotels and other infrastructure put beyond use. see http://www.lake-baringo.com/rift/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=10 for some info on this. I do not have specific knowledge that can be used to update the article, but clearly an update is required. Plantsurfer (talk) 20:31, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

BBC article from 6 Sept. 2023 states that lake has risen from climate change in the last 10 years. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66707507. Reticulum271 (talk) 14:40, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Indeed
I can confirm the item by Plantsurfer above, based on a visit to Island Camp in Lake Baringo on 3 January 2014. Professor Bonnie Dunbar (PhD) of University of Nairobi advises (pers comm) that the main rivers feeding into the lake, which are normally very seasonal, have been running with force for 12 months. The lake has risen about 3 to 4 metres, depending on what you choose as a Zero datum (Lake levels are quite variable). This has flooded a lot of lakeside infrastructure (including Prof Dunbar's island home) and drowned all sandy beach and reedbed habitats.

Professor David K. Wright (Phd Archaeology) of Seoul National University advises (pers comm) that the worst case scenario is a return to the situation about 7000 years ago when the lake filled its basin and overflowed towards Lake Turkana. The ancient lake shore is clearly observable in wave cut erosion patterns high on surrounding hills. The sill that defines the maximum water level is to the North-West of the lake, about 50m above current water level.

The extent of recent change is clearly seen in successive Google Earth photos since 2001. The cause of the unusually severe rainfall is as yet unknown, but may be due to a shift in the inter-tropical convergence zone, which in turn may be a result of global warming.

In the Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition reference is made to a tradition that the lake was once much larger.

"BARINGO, a lake of British East Africa, ..... Joseph Thomson, in his journey through the Masai country in 1883, was the first white man to see the lake and to correct the exaggerated notions as to its size. Native tradition, however, asserts that the lake formerly covered a much larger area."

This is all talk, not secondary data, not meeting Wikipedia criteria. If someone can find a secondary source, please update the page.

Craigallan.za (talk) 15:16, 6 January 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Lake Baringo. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130409081737/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list/main/ramsar/1-31-218_4000_0__ to http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list/main/ramsar/1-31-218_4000_0__

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 17:17, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Lake Baringo. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120115084108/http://www.lake-baringo.com/rift/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=10 to http://www.lake-baringo.com/rift/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=10

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 18:05, 15 December 2017 (UTC)