| Loriu Plateau | |
|---|---|
  Loriu Plateau | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | 1,463 m (4,800 ft) |
| Coordinates | 02°30′00″N36°20′00″E / 2.50000°N 36.33333°E /2.50000; 36.33333 |
| Geography | |
| Country | Kenya |
| State | Turkana |
| Geology | |
| Orogeny | Pliocene |
| Rock age | Precambrian |
Loriu Plateau is an elevatedPrecambrian bedrock exposure at the southwest margin ofLake Turkana inKenya.[1] The plateau is only seasonally habitable due to aridity and was once home to fauna otherwise rare in Turkana.[2] Loriu is west of and adjacent to theBarrier Volcano at the southernmost portion of Lake Turkana.
Loriu is bounded by Lake Turkana to the east,Kapedo to the south, theKerio River to the west, and Kerio River delta to the north. The plateau is 64 kilometers running from north to south, approximately 8 kilometers wide, and is capped byTertiary volcanic lava flows. The western margin of Loriu rises gradually while the eastern margin is defined by afault scarp more than 366 meters high in some locations.[1] The maximum altitude of the plateau is 1,463 meters.[2]
The Turkana basin was previously home to a great diversity and number of animal species, many of which became the basis for names of both places and people in the region. A number of wild animals no longer found in the wider Turkana Basin, includingoryx,greater kudu andostrich, were found in the Loriu Plateau during early expeditions by outsiders.[2]
Loriu includes a heterogeneous plant community withacacia trees, bush and sparse grassland. Portions of the plateau are too steep for vegetation.[2]
The Precambrian basement rockbiotite-gneisses that form the underlying structure of Loriu were exposed during the plateau's formation through up faulting and tilting of the basement rock. These layers are clearly visible and form a major part of the stratigraphy of the Mugor scarp on the eastern edge of the plateau. Because of the gradual slope of the western plateau, Loriu is most likely not ahorst.[1]
Lavas capping Loriu are dated to thePliocene, according to the East African Geological Research Unit. These lavas are primarily aphyricbasalts, are grayish in color, trachytic in texture and composed ofolivine. Other basalts contain olivine andpyroxenephenocrysts. To the west are a fewmafic porphyritic basalts and possibly olderMiocene basalts cut bydykes and faults. Olivinenephelinite has been collected near these basalts.[1]
The southern margin of Loriu is also bounded by a major volcanic group around the Lomi caldera.[1]