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37-478: Since the 1920s, Lake Manyara area was used for sports hunting. In 1957, a game reserve was established. In 1960, it was given National Park status and in 1974 about 550 ha (1,400 acres) were added to the southern end. The majority of the land area of the park is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, an alkaline lake , to the east. The national park only includes

74-502: A hallucinogen , and T. catigua in the aphrodisiac and stimulant catuaba . T. emetica wood, also known as Natal mahogany or Cape mahogany is the traditional material of choice for Mozambique 's famous psikhelekedana miniature artists. Trichilia dregeana , or forest mahogany also yields timber and is also used in carvings, traditional African musical instruments, household implements, furniture, bats and canoes. Selected species: This Meliaceae -related article

111-412: A 1996 census. Predators of Lake Manyara National Park include lion , leopard , African wild cat , spotted hyena , black-backed jackal , bat-eared fox , serval , honey badger , African civet , genet ( Genetta ) species and several mongoose species. Cheetah and African golden cat are sighted occasionally. Lake Manyara is the type locality for the endangered fish Oreochromis amphimelas ,

148-595: A flat-topped canopy. There is a patchy and diverse understory shrub layer. Extensive swamps have formed where the Simba River and its tributaries flow into the north end of Lake Manyara and smaller swamps have formed elsewhere, associated with the minor rivers flowing off the walls of the rift valley. A number of aquatic species have been documented, including two species of water lily ( Nymphaea caerulea and N.lotus ) and extensive mats of water lettuce ( Pistia stratiotes ). Cattails ( Typha sp.) forms pure stands in

185-517: A great fault. Thomson returned in 1883, traveling through the rift valley in Kenya from Mount Longonot to Lake Baringo . Describing the valley around this lake he said: "Imagine if you can a trough or depression 3300 feet above sea level, and twenty miles broad, the mountains rising with very great abruptness on both sides to a height of 9000 feet". John Walter Gregory visited central Kenya in 1893 and again in 1919. His 1896 book The Great Rift Valley

222-407: A maximum depth of about 1.18 m (3 ft 10 in). At its maximum during the wet season, the lake is 40 km (25 mi) wide by 15 km (9.3 mi) with a maximum depth of 3.7 m (12 ft). Beside the lake are extensive marshlands, saline flats (that expand in the dry season as the surface area of the lake shrinks) and a grassy floodplain. At the area near the park gate there

259-574: A species of in the cichlid family. It is endemic to Tanzania, and also lives in a few more saline lakes with closed basins. Exploitation is prohibited in the parts of Lake Manyara within the National Park and the protected park areas provide important seed stock for the replenishment of fished populations. Over 180 species of butterflies have been documented in the park. Gregory Rift The Gregory Rift ( Ufa la Gregori , in Swahili )

296-407: Is a tall forest, sustained by groundwater, dominated by evergreen fig and mahogany trees. On the west side of the park, the rocky escarpment of the rift valley wall rises steeply to 1,219–1,829 m (3,999–6,001 ft). Large African baobab trees ( Adansonia digitata ) are scattered on the slopes. A narrow zone of dense acacia woodland grows at the base of the rift wall, on materials washed down

333-652: Is considered a classic. Gregory was the first well-known European to use the term "rift valley", which he defined as "a linear valley with parallel and almost vertical sides, which has fallen owing to a series of parallel faults". In 1913 the German geologist Hans Reck made the first European study of the strata in the Olduvai Gorge to the west of the Crater Highlands. He brought a large collection of mammalian fossils back to Berlin. In 1928 Louis Leakey ,

370-551: Is diverse, with over 670 flowering plant and fern species documented. Most are widespread species; there are few rare or endemic species. The park has a variety of diverse habitats. Rivers flowing off the escarpment and perennial springs below the rift wall support tall, evergreen groundwater forests dominated by Trichilia roka with Broad-Leaved Croton ( Croton macrostachyus ), sycamore fig ( Ficus sycomorus ), quinine tree ( Rauvolfia afra ) and forest toad-tree ( Tabernaemontana ventricosa ). Trees are densest in gorges, along

407-550: Is known for flocks of thousands flamingos that feed along the edge of the lake in the wet season. In 1991 there were an estimated 1,900,000 non-breeding Lesser Flamingo ( Phoeniconaias minor ) individuals and 40,000 Greater Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus roseus ). Great white pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalu s) can also be present in large numbers (an estimated 200,000 individuals in 1991) and in all there has been an estimated 1,000,000-2,499,999 individual water birds, however, only 78,320 birds were counted in 1994. The groundwater forest to

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444-501: Is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The park can also be reached from Babati the capital of Manyara Region. Lake Manyara Airport is nearby. To the south, situated on the escarpment above the park, is the 35,399 ha Marang Forest Reserve. To the east is the Kwa Kuchinja Wildlife Migration corridor, which allows wildlife to migrate between

481-776: Is part of the Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve. Lake Manyara, including the areas within and outside the national park, along with the Marang Forest Reserve on the adjacent uplands are included in the Lake Manyara Important Bird Area. Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake at an altitude of 960 m (3,150 ft), formed in a depression in the Rift Valley System. When full, the lake is a maximum of 10 ft (3.0 m) deep and covers two-thirds of

518-810: Is the eastern branch of the East African Rift fracture system. The rift is being caused by the separation of the Somali Plate from the Nubian Plate , driven by a thermal plume . Although the term is sometimes used in the narrow sense of the Kenyan Rift , the larger definition of the Gregory Rift is the set of faults and grabens extending southward from the Gulf of Aden through Ethiopia and Kenya into Northern Tanzania , passing over

555-560: The 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) wide East African Plateau . Large shield volcanoes near the margins of the craton and in the adjacent Mozambique belt issued large volumes of basaltic to trachytic magmatism between five and one million years ago, with faulting around 1.2 million years ago. Volcanic activity started in the central Ethiopian plateau around 30 million years ago, long before rifting began. The first period of activity deposited flood basalts and rhyolites from 500 metres (1,600 ft) to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) thick. Uplift of

592-467: The 1980s found this to be one of the areas with the highest wildlife biomass in Africa, but elephant numbers had fallen by 75% between 1985 and 1991 as a result of illegal hunting, with numbers rebounding to around 200 in 1996. Lake Manyara was also once known for its high population of black rhinoceros , but none were present by 1996. Similarly, reedbuck were present in 1984, but no individuals were found in

629-595: The Baringo – Bogoria half-graben from 500 metres (1,600 ft) to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) thick and in the Afar depression up to 100 metres (330 ft) thick. The first well-known European geologist to explore the region was Joseph Thomson , a member of an expedition in 1879–1880 sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society of Britain. From his observations he deduced the existence of

666-589: The Ethiopian plateau began around this time or soon after. Between 30 million and 10 million years ago synrift shield volcanoes deposited from 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) of additional material over the Ethiopian flood basalts. Rifting in Ethiopia began about 18 million years ago in the southwest and 11 million years ago in northern parts of the Main Ethiopian Rift as

703-645: The Himalayas. This belt runs from Ethiopia through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique . The rift is widest at the northern end in the Afar region, narrowing to a few kilometers in northern Tanzania, then splaying out in the North Tanzania Divergence. The Gregory Rift has shoulders rising over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level, 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above the inner part of the graben. The Tanzanian portion includes Mount Kilimanjaro ,

740-487: The alkaline lake flats. Sporobolus spicatus is dominant on exposed lakebed and can be very extensive during low lake levels, becoming restricted to a narrow zone above the high water mark when lake levels are high. There are extensive areas of Psilolemma jaegeri grasslands outside the park, along the eastern shore of the lake. Vegetation on the escarpment is characterized by Ruellia megachlamys and African baobab trees ( Adansonia digitata ). Lake Manyara National Park

777-410: The anthropologist, visited Berlin, where he saw that some of Reck's materials were artifacts . Leakey began exploring Olduvai in the 1930s and collecting material that has led to the site being recognized as an important center of early hominin occupation. Volcanism and rifting started in Kenya in the northern region of Turkana between 40 and 35 million years ago and then spread north and south. To

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814-484: The edge of streams and in areas where springs emerge. Growing at the edge of the groundwater forest are dense stands of yellow fever trees ( Acacia xanthophloea ) and the palm Phoenix reclinata . Woodlands on the western shore of the lake dominated by Acacia and Commiphora species are also supported by groundwater. Trees are spaced irregularly; densest in zones of seepage and along drainage channels. The dominant tree, Acacia tortilis , grows to about 10m tall with

851-458: The face. Other features include a hippopotamus pool at the northern end of the lake and two hot springs, one near the centre of the park and the other near the southern edge. There is a hot water spring on the western shores of lake Manyara called Maji Moto hot water springs. This 60 °C geothermal feature is formed by underground water that passes through hot volcanic magma rocks of the great rift valley. The flora of Lake Manyara National Park

888-492: The highest mountain in Africa, and the huge caldera of Ngorongoro In the Crater highlands This portion also contains Ol Doinyo Lengai , the world's only active carbonatite volcano. Lakes in the rift other than Lake Turkana are mostly small and shallow, some with fresh water but many being saline. The thickness of lake sediments is mostly unknown. In Lake Turkana they seem to be at most 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) thick, in

925-539: The highest number of rainy days (19 days). The driest months (with the lowest rainfall) are July, August and September (1 mm (0.039 in). September also has the lowest average number of rainy days (2 days). The warmest months (with the highest average high temperature) are January, February and March, averaging 30 °C (86 °F). Months with the lowest average high temperature are June and July, averaging 25 °C (77 °F). The adjacent highlands tend to be cooler with more rainfall. Lake Manyara National Park

962-555: The local uplifts of the Ethiopian and Kenyan domes. Ancient fossils of early hominins , the ancestors of humans, have been found in the southern part of the Gregory Rift. The Gregory Rift is named in honour of the British geologist John Walter Gregory who explored the geology of the rift in 1892–93 and 1919. The Gregory Rift lies within the Mozambique belt , often considered to be the remains of an orogenic system similar to

999-561: The national park, although in the dry season, flamingos and other water birds are usually found only in small numbers. Populations of large migratory mammals that are concentrated primarily in Tarangire National Park, but also move through Lake Manyara National Park include wildebeest , zebra, Thomson's gazelle and Grant's gazelle . Large herds of wildebeest and other plains game from the Mto wa Mbu Game Controlled Area enter

1036-700: The near-by Tarangire National Park to the southeast, Lake Manyara to the west, and the Engaruka Basin to the north. Within the Kwa Kuchinja corridor are several villages. Further from the lake and outside of village land is the 45,000-acre Manyara Ranch, a former livestock ranch, managed by the Tanzania Land Conservation Trust since 2001 and an important part of the corridor allowing wildlife movement between Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks. Lake Manyara National Park

1073-523: The north of the lake, and largely within the National Park, is a well-known breeding site for thousands of pink-backed pelican ( Pelecanus rufescens ) and yellow-billed stork ( Mycteria ibis ) along with smaller numbers of Marabou stork ( Leptoptilos crumeniferus ) and grey heron ( Ardea cinerea ). Over 40 species of birds of prey are documented, including palm-nut vulture ( Gypohierax angolensis ) and Ayre's hawk eagle ( Hieraaetus ayresii ). In all, more than 390 species of birds have been documented in

1110-512: The northern swamps and various Cyperus species are found around the edges of the swamps. Cyperus immensus forms dense clumps in areas with flooding by fresh water. Cyperus laevigatus is prominent along the lake shore in areas where the alkaline water table is high, in areas of shallow lagoons enclosed behind sand ridges and flanking river deltas. Grasslands are dominated by Cynodon dactylon in dry locations, or by Sporobolus spicatus , often in association with Sporobolus consimilis on

1147-498: The northwest quadrant of the lake, about 200 km (77 sq mi). It is part of the much larger Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve , established in 1981 by UNESCO as part of its Man and the Biosphere Programme. There are two rainy seasons - "short rains" from November to December and the "long rains" from March to May. The wettest month (with the highest rainfall) is April (161 mm (6.3 in) and it also has

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1184-628: The opening of the Gregory rift caused the Afar Triple Junction to form. Volcanism from the Middle Pleistocene onward formed a chain of volcanoes along the floor of the rift throughout its length, dividing it into separate valleys. There are some indications that the lithosphere may have thinned below the Gregory rift, although based on basalt geochemistry the lithosphere is at least 75 kilometres (47 mi) thick below

1221-445: The park from the north for short periods. Wildebeest exclusively graze the alkaline grasslands around the lake, and numbers are highest during the dry season, dropping to small resident populations in the wet season. Herbivores of Lake Manyara National Park include zebra , bushbuck , waterbuck , Grant's gazelle , impala , Thomson's gazelle , Cape buffalo , giraffe , hippopotamus , baboon , warthog , and elephant . Studies in

1258-452: The park. The lake has no outflow, but is fed by underground springs and by several permanent streams that drain surrounding Ngorongoro Highlands. The lake's depth and the area it covers fluctuates significantly. In extreme dry periods the surface area of the lake shrinks as the waters evaporate and at times the lake has dried up completely. In 2010, a bathymetry survey showed the lake to have an average depth 0.81 m (2 ft 8 in), and

1295-628: The rift at Huri Hills, Mount Marsabit and Nyambeni Hills and recent small cones at Suswa and east of the Silali caldera all indicate that the minimum horizontal stress direction has changed to NW-SE within the last half million years. Trichilia Many, see text Trichilia is a flowering plant genus in the family Meliaceae . These plants are particularly diverse in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America . Several species are used in folk medicine and shamanism – e.g. T. rubescens against malaria , T. tocacheana as

1332-457: The south of Kenya. The Gregory rift is oriented NS, and in the past the minimum horizontal tectonic stress direction was EW, the direction of extension. The alignment of rows of small vents , cones , domes and collapse pits in the Suswa , Silali and Kinangop Plateau regions support this theory. However, data from oil and gas exploration wells in Kenya, vents in volcanic shields to the east of

1369-492: The south volcanism and rifting happened together, first in other parts of northern Kenya around 30 million years ago, then around 15 million years ago in the central part of the Kenyan Rift , 12 million years ago in southern Kenya and 8 million years ago in northern Tanzania. When rifting reached the Tanzanian Craton , the rift split into the eastern Gregory Rift and the western Albertine Rift , which are separated by

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