The boy of Turkana is the subject chosen by Google as Doodle. Find out more about The Turkana Boy.
Lake Turkana, formerly known as Lake Rudolph, is a large African lake in Kenya, with its northern tip in Ethiopia.
Its average area reaches 6405 sq.km. and is the largest standing lake in the world in the desert, and the largest alkaline lake. Its length reaches 290 km and its width is 32, while its average depth is 30.2 meters and its maximum is 109 meters.
The average surface of the lake is at an altitude of 360.4 meters above sea level. The lake water is drinkable, but not pleasant to the taste. The climate of the area is hot and dry, and the only water loss of the lake is from evaporation.
The lake is known for its many crocodiles.
Lake Turkana National Parks are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In 1984, Kamoya Kimeu found the “Boy of Turkana”. “We suddenly realized that we had made a significant discovery. “The ‘Turkana boy’ is the most complete find of a prehistoric human skeleton,” said Richard Leakey, a paleoanthropologist and archaeologist.
Kamoya Kimeu and his team conducted an archeological excavation in East Africa between 1984 and 1986, during which they discovered a “not so human” fossil, which probably belonged to Homo erectus.
They decided to call him a “Turkana boy” because he was found by Lake Turkana in Kenya.
Google shows this animated doodle in many countries on August 1st.
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