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The Suguta Basin

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The Kenya Rift Lakes: Modern and Ancient

Part of the book series: Syntheses in Limnogeology ((SYNLIMNO))

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Abstract

The Lower Suguta lies between north-south trending rift faults and monoclines and between the Barrier volcanic complex to the north and Emuruangogolak volcano to the south. This part of the Suguta is constricted in the middle by the Namarunu volcano and contains extensive Quaternary diatomites and diatomaceous sediments with erosional and depositional shorelines marking former lakes that were several hundred metres deep. The Upper Suguta lies between Emuruangogolak and Karosi volcanoes and includes Silali and Paka volcanoes along with shallow modern lakes and hot springs. The Miocene fluvio-lacustrine Namarungule Formation accumulated southeast of the Lower Suguta. The Miocene fluvio-lacustrine Nakali Formation developed east of Silali. Pliocene Aterir Beds accumulated in the western Upper Suguta with lacustrine stromatolites and gastropod limestones forming at Napeitom Gorge northwest of Emuruangogolak. Quaternary eruptions at the Barrier gradually built overlap** volcanoes with complete hydrological separation of the Suguta from the Turkana Basin develo** at about 0.2 Ma. During the Early to Middle Pleistocene, a large palaeolake was present in the Lower Suguta, which became almost dry at ~0.2 Ma. A large open basin palaeolake developed again during the African Humid Period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Robin W. Renaut

  2. Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

    Richard Bernhart Owen

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  1. Robin W. Renaut
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Renaut, R.W., Owen, R.B. (2023). The Suguta Basin. In: The Kenya Rift Lakes: Modern and Ancient. Syntheses in Limnogeology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25055-2_16

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