Coastal History

THE SWAHILI COAST of Kenya faces the warm blue water of the Indian Ocean and extends for a distance of about 536kms, from the border with Tanzania in the South to Somalia in the North. Much of the shoreline is covered by a continuous strip of magnificent white soft sand beach, protected by an unspoilt coral reef that has been compared in equal terms to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the Red Sea Coral Reef. The beaches are backed with coconut palms, frangipani and casuarinas trees, interspersed with exotic mango and avocado trees, floral shrubs and bougainvillaea. Forests of mangroves to the far south create a beautiful ecological zone and huge baobab trees grow along the north coastal strip. A short distance inland from the coast, the land is traversed by scores of streams and rivers that seasonally flow from the high ground, through jungles and narrow fertile plains to the sea.