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Along Mama Ngina Road (named after President Kenyatta's wife) next to the South Ferry. Ideal if you need to wait to cross. This site was also used as a graveyard for the original Portugese settlers that stayed at nearby Fort Jesus.
The Baobab forest contains a number of trees up to 600yrs old. The baobabs are unique to Madagascar and Africa with a single species found in Australia.The same forest contains the 'Neem' tree. Locally called the Magic tree. When the stem and leaves are boiled releases a chemical better known to us as 'quinine'. Tastes bitter but great for the gut, protection against infection, tape worm etc. Horrible but most medicines are. Supposed to cure over 40 illnesses.
Also note the rugged coastline with the waves under-cutting much of the shoreline. A nearby casino/nightclub on Mama Ngina Rd actually is cut down and you can see the waves coming in under the edge of the shore!
Examine the ferry and the way in whch the coastal inlet into the large port of Mombasa has prevented transport southwards - it is good to get a map and try and figure out exactly how the island city of Mombasa only has 2 points of entry - a bridge northwards and a causeway built by the British westwards. The southern access is only by the ferry - and this is a major transportation route to Tanzania and Dar es Salam.Being a coastal town, Mombasa is characterised by a flat topography. The town of Mombasa is centered on Mombasa island, but extends to the mainland. The island is separated from mainland by two creeks, Port Reitz in south and Tudor Creek in north.
Mombasa has a warm, tropical climate. Winter months are slightly warmer than summer. The amount of rainfall depends essentially on season. The most rainy months are April and May, while in January to February the rainfall is minimal.
The coastal setting and the geology control the geomorphology on the Kenyan coast. The evolution of the physical environment has also been influenced by climate, wave and tidal regime, sedimentation and river discharge. The shore terraces of Kenyan coast correspond to eustatic movements of sea level. There seems to be evidence of a
high water level during the late Pleistocene. For the lower terraces the Holocene age is suggested. During the Pleistocene, sea level fluctuations associated with glacial / interglacial phases left well developed raised platforms and beaches. The Kenyan coast has a strong tectonic influence and it is difficult to describe the coast in terms of emergence or submergence only. It can therefore be concluded that the geomorphology of the Kenyan coast is not only as a result of sea level changes but
also due to isostatic readjustments and tectonic movements.
The coastal belt of Kenya comprises of the following main topographical features which are closely related to the geological characteristics of the area: the Coastal Plain, the Foot Plateau, the Coastal Range and the Nyika. The altitude of the Coastal Plain is generally less than 45 m above sea level. Different geologic features form the coastal belt. Geomorphologically, the Kenyan coastal zone is an emergent coastline. It has thus been subjected to marine regression since the Jurassic period. During the
Pleistocene, sea-level fluctuations associated with glacial / interglacial phases left well developed raised platforms and beaches. The Malindi area, in the north, has
experienced a shoreline progradation of up to 750 m over the last 40 years. The north coast is also characterized by a predominance of sand dunes and tombolos, exemplified at Ras Ngomeni, in addition to recognized higher land uplift and arching. Three different coastal types are recognized along the Kenyan coast which include the Fringing reef shoreline of southern Kenya; the deltaic shoreline of Sabaki and the Tana River and the ancient delta area of the Lamu Archipelago (Kairu, 1997). Inland, behind the coral rocks are found low-lying clays and shales which filled what must have been lagoons in front of the barrier reefs. The geomorphology is diverse consisting of sandy beaches, dunes, creeks, muddy tidal flats and rocky shores bordered by cliffs (Ase, 1978, 1981; Ojany, 1984; Oosterom, 1988; and Abuodha,1992). In the Southern section, the Coastal Plain is 3 - 6 km wide and attains elevations of up to 50m, its landward boundary is marked by the rise of the Foot Plateau, whose elevations range from 60 -140 m. Coral rocks characterize the coastline and sandy beaches are protected from the open ocean by patch and fringing reefs. Except for the interruption of the reefs at the creeks by outflow of fresh water from rivers, the reefs run parallel to the entire shoreline at a distance of 1-2 km (Abuodha, 1992). Cliffs formed by wave erosion with raised shorelines are the most prominent feature indicating a shoreline of emergence. Mangrove swamps are very common, especially
in muddy areas where fresh water enters the coast.
(from: ABUODHA)
1) [OPTIONAL] Send a photo with your team holding the GPS with a baobab tree and the ocean in the background.
2) Explain at least two geomorphological features you observed close to this point (or in nearby Mombasa). Give the location of them (waypoint) with a photograph posted in your log.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ab pnpur urer - CYRNFR fraq na RZNVY