Across the valley, the western side of the Rift stands like a sheer wall. The flat valley floor, with its impressive collection of volcanic formations like the old volcanoes Longonot and Suswa, stretches as far as the eye can see. There are several lakes in the rift valley and the largest of them all being Lake Turkana, in the north-west of Kenya. Its shallow, slightly alkaline waters are full of fish which the communities living around the lake depend on for their livelihood. The lake has also got a large population of Nile crocodiles.
Few plants grow there as the land there is dry.
The volcanic soil of the Rift Valley is very fertile, and agricultural productivity is very high especially where ther is good rainfall or at least good irrigation systems. Further south, Lake Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru and Naivasha can be found. The rift valley still has some underground volcanic activity as there are numerous Hot springs, steam jets and geysers bubbling up from numerous locations. They are formed when rainwater seeps down to the hot underlying volcanic rocks. Under the immense heat and pressure, the water is super heated and it is known to exceed 300 degrees centigrade in some locations.