The landscape of Kenya is distinctly divided into two halves; the eastern half slopes gently to the coral-backed sea shore, the western portion rises more abruptly through a series of hills and plateaus to the Eastern Rift valley, known in Kenya as the Central Rift. West of the Rift is a westward-sloping plateau, the lower part of which is occupied by Lake Victoria. The highest point in the country is the snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya. Standing tall at 5,199m, this is the second highest mountain in Africa and one of the largest freestanding mountains in the world with a base diameter of 200km.
The coastline extends some 536kms from the Tanzanian border in the south east, to the Somali border in the northeast. The main rivers are the Athi/Galana and the Tana. The major lakes are: Lake Victoria, Turkana, Baringo, Naivasha, Magadi, Jipe, Bogoria, Nakuru and Elementaita.