Sibiloi National Park, National park in Marsabit County, Kenya.
Sibiloi National Park covers 1,570 km2 on the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana in Marsabit County. Its semi-desert plains of open grassland are flanked by volcanic formations, including Mount Sibiloi, visible from Alia Bay on the southern perimeter, where the remains of a petrified forest lie. The park headquarters of the Kenya Wildlife Service, camping facilities and the Koobi Fora Museum stand at Alia Bay; the Koobi Fora Spit and research centre lie to the north.
The park was established by Kenya in 1973 and gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997 as part of the Lake Turkana National Parks designation. This recognition reflected the site's importance for understanding human evolutionary history through the fossils found here.
The park takes its name from Mount Sibiloi, visible from Alia Bay on its southern edge. At Alia Bay stand the Kenya Wildlife Service headquarters, camping and short-stay facilities, and the Koobi Fora Museum, where non-humanoid fossils are displayed; the Australopithecus and early Homo remains have been moved to Nairobi. Koobi Fora Spit, north of the park, holds the Koobi Fora research centre and can be visited on guided tours.
Access is via rough tracks from North Horr or Loiyangalani, so allow a full day of driving and carry fuel and water. The Kenya Wildlife Service headquarters, camping and short-stay facilities sit at Alia Bay on the southern perimeter, near the Koobi Fora Museum. The Koobi Fora Spit and research centre to the north can only be visited on guided tours.
The Koobi Fora fossil sites contain over 300 hominid specimens collected from rocks spanning several million years of human evolutionary history. These discoveries have provided crucial evidence for understanding how early humans and their ancestors lived and evolved in this part of Africa.
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