Naivasha (Swahili Naivasha) is a freshwater lake in Kenya. It is located northwest of Nairobi, near the city of Naivasha. It is part of the chain of lakes of the Great Rift Valley. The name of the lake comes from the Masai word Nai'posha, which can be translated as “stormy water”, which is probably due to the sudden storms that occur in these places.
Naivasha is located in the highest part of the Kenyan rift valley, at an altitude of 1884 m above sea level. Two permanent rivers flow into the lake - Maleva and Gilgil. There are no rivers flowing from the lake, however, due to the quality of the water, there is most likely an underground outflow. The area of the lake is 139 km². The average depth is 6 m, the maximum depth is 30 m. The city of Naivasha is located at the northeastern tip of the lake.
Naivasha is home to nearly 400 species of birds. There is a fairly significant population of hippos. Near Naivashi there are 2 small lakes: Oloiden and Sonachi.