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 Dambos
Kenya's Rift Valley has a geologic feature called dambos. These are shallow depressions, often located near rivers, which fill with water during the rainy season. Due to the frequent presence of water, tall grasses are associated with dambos. A dambo can be a kilometer in length and several hundreds of meters in width.

Since dambos are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, locating these low-lying grasslands is useful in preventing, or at least minimizing, outbreaks of Rift Valley fever.

What Does a Dambo Look Like? Below are pictures taken from the ground of a small portion of a dambo. Dambos typically have a distinctive tall sedge grass in middle areas and papyrus and several other grasses around their edges. This pattern of vegetative growth makes them look quite different from the surrounding area. Even in the dry season, the dambos appear greener than other areas. Vegetation in dambos that are frequently flooded is healthier and more abundant than vegetation in drier dambos.

Image taken from the ground of a small portion of a dambo. This image links to a more detailed image. >

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