European arrival at Lake Turkana (Rudolf)
Llegada europea al lago Turkana (Rodolfo)
- Date
- 6 de marzo de 1888 · confidence high
- Place
- Loiyangalani, Lake Turkana, Marsabit, Kenya
- Credited to
- Sámuel Teleki and Ludwig von Höhnel
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
An Austro-Hungarian expedition from Kilimanjaro that reached the great alkaline lake of the eastern Rift and named it Rudolf. It revealed the lake that later gave its name to the basin of the Koobi Fora finds.
A discovery only for Europeans: the Turkana, Daasanach and other peoples knew it. They reached the south-eastern shore; von Höhnel later explored Lake Stefanie.
What it led to
- mapping of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia
- scientific interest in the Turkana fossils (Leakey, 1960s-70s)
- recognition of the lake as the world's largest permanent desert lake