Koobi Fora is situated in the north eastern shores of Lake Turkana, within the Sibiloi National Park. This area boasts several archaeological and paleontological sites that have put Kenya on the world map as the “Cradle of Mankind”. The area is also part of UNESCO’s inscribed Lake Turkana World Heritage Sites.
Well preserved hominin fossils dating to as early as 2.1 million years have been discovered. These include such genus as Australopithecines and Homo. Stone tools dating to almost two million years have also been discovered. Other important discoveries in this area are evidence of the earliest humanly controlled fire, fossil fauna and flora such as the petrified forest found at Alia Bay, as well as fossil footprints of hominids and different species of fauna. The geology of this area is also unique.
Together with the paleontological and archaeological found the area has provided immense information on the evolution of life. including the kind of environments during different periods, settlement patterns, and subsistence as well as general evolution traits of different life forms.

Koobi Fora Museum

Situated along the Eastern shores of Lake Turkana is Koobi Fora Site and Museum, a World Heritage Site also popularly known as the Cradle of Mankind. On site are mainly extinct fossils like the crocodile, giraffe and tortoise at least four times larger than today’s.

Koobi Fora

You can also relax at the Koobi Fora camp overlooking the lake away from city life, enjoy spectacular sunsets and teeming wildlife. Koobi Fora is a very important site for Hominid Fossils, famous internationally since Richard Leakey’s discovery of ‘1470’ a 2 million year old skull of Homo Habilis.
As interest in visiting this area increases, there is promise of improved visitor facilities and safari options in this area.

Koobi Fora Research Project

The Koobi Fora Region has, over the last 35 years of exploration, produced a wealth of paleontological, geological and archaeological data. Research in the area has revealed a complex history of volcanism, tectonics and sedimentary cycles preserving fluvial and lake phases of the basin. Some 16,000 fossil specimens have been collected from the Turkana basin, almost 10,000 from the Koobi Fora Region. This includes an impressive 350 hominid specimens from the basin and this has contributed significantly to our present understanding of human origins and hominid diversity through time. Hominid behaviour, including tool use, has been interpreted from the archaeological remains. The huge collection of fossil mammals provides an opportunity to trace the evolution of numerous mammalian lineages back in time.
New sites are being discovered all the time, and the number of students and professionals in this field has greatly increased. Fossils continue to erode from the exposures and require collection to reveal more clues about the past.

Koobi Fora Geographical Location

This site is situated near Lake Turkana (East of the Lake) which is located in the Rift Valley province in Kenya. It lies (3° 56′ 52″N), (36° 11′ 14″E) in sheet NA – 37-1, datum is WGS84. UTM coordinates are 436883N 187621E Zone 37N. From Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya to Koobi Fora is about 746 km by road.

Koobi Fora contacts

Attraction Type: Historic Sites
Category: Archaeological site
Region: North Rift
City / Town: Lodwar
Road / Street: Kapenguria -Lodwar Road
Telephone: 254 20 374 2131
254 721 308485
Email: koobifora@museums.or.ke
Website: http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/9/41
Entrance Fee: Yes

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Watch a Video of Koobi Fora archaeological site