The long
Tana River is the longest
river in
Kenya, and gives its name to the
Tana River County. Its
tributaries include the
Thika, as well as several smaller rivers that flow only during the rainy season. The river rises in the
Aberdare Mountains to the west of
Nyeri. Initially it runs east before turning south around the
massif of
Mount Kenya. The river then runs into the
Masinga Reservoir and Kiambere Reservoir, created by the
Kindaruma dam. Below the
dam the river turns north and flows along the north-south boundary between the Meru and North Kitui and Bisanadi, Kora and Rabole National Reserves. In the reserves the river turns east, and then south east. It passes through the towns of
Garissa,
Hola and
Garsen before entering the
Indian Ocean at Ungwana Bay-
Kipini area, at the end of a
river delta that reaches roughly 30 km upstream from the river mouth itself.