Athi-Galana-Sabaki

The Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is 242 miles long and drains a total area of 70,000 square kilometers. The Athi River originates in the Gatamaiyo Forest and flows into the Indian Ocean as the Galana River.

The Athi River travels through Athi River town, past the Kapote and Athi plains, and then to the northeast, where it meets the Nairobi River. The river generates the Fourteen Falls near Thika and then bends south-southeast under the forested slopes of the Yatta mountain, which closes in the river's basin on the east. Apart from the numerous tiny feeders of the upper river, the Tsavo River, which flows from Kilimanjaro's east slope and enters at roughly 3° S, is the river's practically sole tributary. It then turns east and becomes the Sabaki River in its lower reaches, through the arid quartz-land of the outer plateau.

During the wet season, the valley is low and flat, covered with forest and scrub, and has small lakes and backwaters connected to the river. The river swells up to 10 meters in parts during the wet season, and it is currently strongly running with a muddy yellow color; navigation is disrupted by the Lugard falls, which are actually a series of rapids. It enters the Indian Ocean 10 kilometers north of Malindi, flowing east.

Length: 242 miles