Uganda, the Pearl of Africa
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the “Pearl of Africa”. It’s bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda Kingdom which encompassed a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu- speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9th October 1962.
Kenya
Kenya is located in East Africa and borders the Indian Ocean. The country lies on the Equator. The Great Rift Valley cuts through the country from north to south. Lake Turkana is located in the north of the Great Rift Valley.
The 38th meridian divides Kenya into two halves of striking contrast. While the eastern half slopes gently to the coral-backed seashore, 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 lowest part of which is occupied by Lake Victoria. Within this basic framework, Kenya is divided into the following geographic regions: the Lake Victoria basin, the Rift Valley and associated highlands, the eastern plateau forelands, the semiarid and arid areas of the north and south, and the coast.
Tanzania
Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa and includes the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia. Situated just south of the equator, Tanzania is bordered by the Indian Ocean and this beautiful country is home to Mount Kilamanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. Highlands associated with the Western Rift Valley are formed by the Ufipa Plateau, the Mbeya Range, and Rungwe Mountain in the southwestern corner of the country
From there the southern highlands run northeastward along the Great Rift to the Ukuguru and Nguru mountains northwest of Morogoro. Extending from the northern coast, the Usambara and Pare mountain chains run in a southeast-to-northwest direction, culminating in Kilimanjaro’s lofty snow-clad peak and continuing beyond to Mount Meru (14,978 feet [4,565 metres]).
Rwanda
Rwanda, landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. Known for its breathtaking scenery, Rwanda is often referred to as le pays des mille collines (French: “land of a thousand hills”). The capital is Kigali, located in the centre of the country on the Ruganwa River.
Elevation accounts for Rwanda’s generally mild temperatures, which average 70 °F (21 °C) year-round at Kigali, for example, in the interior highlands. There are significant variations, however, between the region of the volcanoes in the northwest, where heavy rainfalls are accompanied by lower average temperatures, and the warmer and drier interior highlands. The average annual rainfall in the latter is about 45 inches (1,140 millimetres), which is concentrated in two rainy seasons (roughly February to May and October to December).
