subject: Get To Know Kenya [print this page] Kenya lies along the India Ocean in the East African region. It's bordered by Somalia to the northeast, Ethiopia to the North and Sudan to the northwest. Other neighbors are Uganda to the west and Tanzania to the south. The country is greatly known for her wildlife reserves. It covers an area of 580,000 sq km and has a population of close to 39 million according to the recently released national census report. There 42 ethnic groups in the country. Kenya has a significant landmark known as Mt. Kenya and it's the second highest peak mountain in Africa. The name of the country has its origin from three communities living around Mount Kenya. They are Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba. They used to pronounce the name of the mountain as Kinyaa' instead of Kirinyaga' and so Dr. Ludwig Krapf a missionary and explorer gave the mountain its name as Mt. Kenya. This is because he was unable to pronounce the word Kirinyaga' and heard it as Kenia' and he went ahead to record it that way in his exploration manuscripts. Kenya was later to be renamed that way by the British colonialists because the Whites could also not pronounce the name correctly. Kiinyaa in English means a place of ostriches. This was in reference to the black and white plumage of male ostriches. When the mountain is observed from a distance the snow capped peak looks like it's covered in white feathers of a male ostrich. The mountain that was once volcanic has now become dormant. The mountain is regarded as sacred by the local Kikuyu community.
