GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

  THE FOLLOWING ARE FACTORS INFLUENCING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN EAST AFRICA Climate Areas that receive heavy and reliable rainfall which support the growth of crops have attracted people in large numbers e.g. shores of Lake Victoria, Kenya highlands, slopes of Mt. Elgon and Kigezi highlands while areas that receive low and unreliable rainfall attract very few people e.g. Karamoja, Turkana land and Miombo woodlands. Soils areas with deep and well-drained fertile soils that support agriculture have attracted dense settlements e.g. Mbale, Kabale, shores of Lake Victoria while areas with infertile soils have sparse populations e.g. Nyika plains, North Eastern Kenya and Masai land. Altitude/relief areas with very high altitudes e.g. top of Mt. Elgon and Rwenzori, Bundibugyo have a sparse population because of the high pressure, difficulty in constructing houses and roads. However low altitude areas have attracted large settlements due to ease in constructing settlements and roads. ...

  Settlement is the place where people live. Also, settlement can be defined as organized human habitation it can be a single home or bustling metropolis. Settlement can be classified as a rural or urban settlement Rural settlement A rural settlement is a single-function settlement where most of the people are engaged in primary economic activities, usually farming. These settlements are generally small and sparsely populated. There is a low population density in a rural area compared to an urban area. Generally, the majority of people in rural areas are engaging in agriculture and other primary extractive activities such as fishing and hunting. rural settlement may range from large commercial farms to small subsistence farms and is described as uni-functional. Most settlement in villages of East Africa is rural settlements. classification of rural settlement according to pattern and function rural settlement can be either nucleated or dispersed dispersed or isolated rural...