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Notes on the Jarigole Pillar Site
The Jarigole Hills as seen from Allia Bay, Lake Turkana, Kenya.
Setting of the Jarigole Pillar Site
1. The Jarigole Pillar site is situated at the base of the Jarigole Hills, just to the north of the fault that marks the northern face of the hills. The light brown face of the hills mark the fault in the picture above. In the satellite photo to the left, you can see the fault scarp running east/west. The stream that breeches the fault scarp towards the right-hand end of the visible scarp is Jarigole Laga, where there is a permanent spring about one kilometer south of the fault.
2. Looking roughly SSE across the Jarigole Pillar site to the fault-bounded face of the Jarigole Hills. The sloping grass ramp in the middle distance marks the recessional beach from the last overflow stand of ancient Lake Turkana. This is the same beach that underlies the Jarigole Pillar site.
3. This is the fault that bounds the northern face of the Jarigole Hills. The black basalt at the right marks the northern edge of the fault where the basalt has been thrust upward through ancient lake sediments. Here, these sediments have been bent back into an acute fold. Later erosion has removed much of these sediments and then alluvium has been deposited as the uplifted region to the south was eroded. Finally, the course layer of cobbles and gravel at the very top marks the beach that planed off the top of the alluvial apron at the margin of the Jarigole Hills during the last overflow stand of Lake Turkana.
4. Looking NNE across Jarigole Laga across the alluvial apron towards Mt. Sibilot at the upper left. The Jaarigole Pillar site is in the gray beach area that is developed on the alluvial apron in the middle of the photo. The stream that has formed Jarigole Laga helped to form this alluvial apron at a time when it was graded to a much higher level, before down-cutting this portion of its course.
5. Looking NNW across the beach-draped alluvial apron, which is incised by system of gullies. This gully system was established before the last overflow stand of Lake Turkana, during which it filled with fine grey silts. The gully system is now being reestablished through the erosion these soft sediments.
6. Soft sediments being eroded away in this gully to the south of the Jarigole Pillar site. The next shots come from where the student is working, on the right.
7. This shows the same beach that underlies the Jarigole Pillar site. Here, a few hundred meters SSE of the site, it overlies a gully filline that contains bands of Melanoides shells in grey, polludal silts.
8. Close-up from the photo above. Shows the beach with mussels and stromatolite-covered pebbles in situ.
9. Another close-up taken just to the right of the last, showing the stromatolites.
10. The Jarigole Pillar site also has a modern, historical setting that has affected its surface structure. Here is an image from the ruins of an extensive pastoral encampment in Jarigole Laga just over a kilometer to the east of the pillar site. This encampment was occupied in 1964 during the great drought in northern Kenya. The picture was taken in 1987, 23 years after it was abandoned.
11. Just down slope from the Pillar site there are the remains of an even older pastoral settlement that is slowly vanishing into the landscape. This old encampment goes right to within a few meters of the platform at Jarigole.
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