Kajiado County

Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads, Airports, Climate & National Monuments in Kajiado County

Geography of Kajiado County

The noteworthy physical features of Kajiado County are its plains, valleys and occasional volcanic hills. Altitude ranges from 500 ms above sea level at Lake Magadi to 2500 ms above sea level in Ngong Hills. Kajiado County is divided into three major ecological zones – Rift Valley, Athi Kapiti Plains and Central Broken Ground. The Rift Valley has important physical features such as Mt. Suswa and the Lake Magadi which has substantial deposits of soda ash that is commercially exploited. The Athi Kapiti Plains are consised mainly of gently undulating slopes, which become rolling and hilly as you near the Ngong Hills. The Central Broken Ground is an area stretching 20 to 70 kms wide from the northeastern boarder, near Tsavo, to the southwest, at Namanga and Amboseli.

Land Use in Kajiado County

Land in Kajiado County is mainly used for livestock rearing and crop growing. Pastoralism is predominant throughout. There’s a significant change in the land use in the urban areas, where industrial and commercial use is growing rapidly.

Highlights in Kajiado County

Kajiado County has numerous touring attraction sites that include the globally famous Amboseli National Park, part of Tsavo, Lake Magadi, Ngong Hills and Chyulu Hills. Amboseli National Park attracts over 130,000 visitors annually. Other tourist attraction sites include Lake Amboseli, which is mainly seasonal and very alkaline, Mount Kilimanjaro, the superb grassland and plains and the well conserved Maasai culture and tradition which have been very popular with international tourists. The views of Mount Kilimanjaro provides stellar scenery.

View of Lake Magadi. Photo Courtesy of Mutua Matheka — A long view of Lake Magadi. Image Courtesy of Mutua Matheka

Population of Kajiado County

Kajiado County had a population density of about 31 people/ km2 in 2009 and was expected to increase to 46 people/km2 by 2017. It has an estimated annual population growth rate of 3.5%, with Kajiado’s population in 2012 estimated at 807,069. The 2012 projected urban population in Kajiado was 191,827 which is 23% of the total population. The main towns in Kajiado County are Kitengela, Rongai, Kiserian, Ngong, Loitokitok, Namanga, Isinya and Kajiado. Kajiado North, with a density of about 1369 people/km2, is the most densely populated.

Airports in Kajiado County

Kajiado County has seven airstrips with at least one in each Sub-county, at Kajiado Town, Loitokitok, Olooloitikosh, Ngong, Magadi, Daraja and Amboseli.

Roads in Kajiado County

Kajiado County has a total length of roads of 2,344.2 kms of which 300 kms is tarmac roads. The five major tarmac roads in the county are Emali-Loitokitok, Namanga-Athi River, Isinya-Kiserian, Magadi-Mbagathi and Kiserian-Ngong.

Climate in Kajiado County

Temperatures in Kajiado County oscillate, both with altitude and season. The highest temperatures of about 34C are recorded around Lake Magadi, while the lowest of 10C are experienced at Oloitokitok near the eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The coolest period is between July and August, and the hottest months are between November to April. Rainfall is concentrated in the months March to May and October to December. “The prevailing climate in Kajiado is known as a local steppe climate, and there is little rainfall throughout the year”.