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Geography
The vast and arid region that extends to the east of the Highlands includes the provinces Eastern, North Eastern and part of the Coast province. This plateau, descending smoothly to the shores of the Indian Ocean, displays a smooth topography, only interrupted by isolated low hill assemblies. Their main geographic features are in the zone of Tsavo: the Taïta Hills, to the west of Voi, and the Chyulu mountain range, that runs in parallel to the railroad and the highway Nairobi-Mombasa, main communication channels between the coast and the inlands.
It is through these lands that flows the most part of the two main streams, Tana and Galana. Both rise in the Eastern Highlands and end at the Indian Ocean. The Galana originates by the confluence of Athi and Tsavo.
The savannah, the most peculiar and typical lanscape in this region of the world, is actually nothing but a transition between rainforest and the arid steppe, and its origin as a natural or man-made ecosystem is controverted. It is mainly a grassland, dominated by gramineae and with variable presence of trees and bush, especially acacia. The savannah's natural balance is a consequence of the action of several factors: the regular rainfall pattern, which promotes the growth of tender pastures; migrations of large herds of herbivores, that move searching the young salt-rich pastures; and fire action, that hinders the overgrowth of trees and bush that would compete with grass for sunlight and the soil's nutrients.
Species of the Acacia genus, belonging to the Mimosa family, growing as tree or bush, are the most common and typical in the savannah. Acacias are easily distinguished by their flat top, their hard thorns, their composed leaves, their cylindrical clustering flowers and their leguminous-like fruit. Their bark is rich in tannin and is used for manufacturing dies and pharmaceutical products. The acacia is the favourite food for several animal species, such as giraffes, elephants and gerenuks.