Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya, East Africa Since AD 1650: Evidence from the Paleorecord

Abstract

This article presents some of the findings of a multi-indicator investigation of the history of vegetational changes and land degradation in the Lake Baringo basin, Kenya, East Africa, during the Late Holocene. 14C and 210Pb-dated record of the lithostratigraphy is used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment in the region of the lake. The stratigraphic record from Lake Baringo reveals the presence of two abrupt dry episodes at ca. AD 1650 and AD 1720 in east Africa that led to drying up of the lake. The record also shows evidence of a third period of desiccation at ca. AD 1880, which resulted in lowering of the lake level and is corroborated by oral tradition from the area. This article shows the potential of how the paleoenvironmental record can be combined with the historical record to understand East Africa’s paleoenvironment.