A geological history of the Turkana Basin

The Turkana Basin preserves a long and detailed record of biotic evolution, cultural development, and rift valley geology in its sedimentary strata. Before the formation of the modern basin, Cretaceous fluvial systems, Paleogene lakes, and Oligo-Miocene volcano-sedimentary sequences left fossil-bearing strata in the region. These deposits were in part related to an early system of rift basins that stretched from Sudan to the Indian Ocean. The present-day basin has its origins in Pliocene tectonic developments of the modern rift, with subsidence making room for more than one kilometer of Plio-Pleistocene strata. Much of this sequence belongs to the Omo Group, richly fossiliferous sediments associated with the ancestral Omo River and its tributaries. Modern Lake Turkana has a record stretching back more than 200 thousand years, with earlier lake phases throughout the Plio-Pleistocene. The geologic history of the basin is one of dynamic landscapes responding to environmental influences, including tectonics, volcanic activity and climate.