It lies between latitude 10 35? south and longitude 370 10? east and 380 30? east. The district covers an area of 7,965.8 km2 out of which 474.1km2 form the Tsavo West National Park and 724.3 km2 forming Chyullu Game Reserve.

The district comprises sixteen divisions with sixty-six locations and a hundred and eighty seven sub locations. Mtito Andei, Makindu, Kibwezi and Kathonzweni are the largest divisions and are situated in the low potential areas of the district. Tulimani, Mbooni, Kilungu and Mbitini divisions are the smallest in that order. The district has five parliamentary constituencies namely: Mbooni, Makueni, Kaiti, Kibwezi and Kilome. There are sixty-nine electoral wards out of which fifty-seven are in rural areas and twelve in the town councils of Wote and Mtito Andei.

Physiographic and Natural Conditions

The major land formations in Makueni District include the volcanic Chyullu hills, which lie along the southwest border of the district in Kibwezi division. The Mbooni and Kilungu hills rise to a height of 1,900m above sea level. The land rises slightly below 600m above sea level in Tsavo at the southern end of the district. The southern part of the district is low lying grassland, which receives little rainfall but has an enormous potential for ranching. The northern part of the district is hilly with medium rainfall and has a potential for food crop production. This part of the district, mainly Kilungu and Mbooni divisions, has few natural and planted forests. These divisions are suitable for coffee, horticulture and dairy farming.

The district experiences two rainy seasons, namely: the long rains occurring in March/April while the short rains occur in November/December. The hilly parts of the district receive 800-1200mm of rainfall per year. The high temperatures experienced in the low-lying areas result into high evaporation.

Athi River, which is perennial, is joined by tributaries such as Kambu, Kiboko and Mtito Andei, which drain from various parts of the district. A few other perennial streams flow from the Mbooni and Kilungu hills but their flow becomes irregular as they move to the low-lying areas. These rivers have a potential for both large and small-scale irrigation.

Climate variations and extreme differences in temperatures can be explained by change in altitude. To the north, it is usually cool while, in the low-lying areas of the south, it is usually hot. Generally, the district experiences high temperatures during the daytime and low temperatures at nights. During the dry periods that are between May and October the lower parts of the district experience high temparatures. The northern parts of the district have low temperatures especially the hilltops. This is due to the forests and windy conditions that exist in these areas. The mean temperature ranges from 20.20C to 24.60C averaging at 22.10C

Settlement Patterns

According to the 1999 population and housing census, Makueni District registered a total population of 771,545 people. The district is generally sparsely populated, except in Mbooni and Kilungu divisions which have fairly high population densities of over 400 persons per square kilometer. Mbooni division has the highest population density followed by Kilungu, Tulimani, Mbitini, Kaiti and Kisau divisions in that order. The least populous divisions are Nguu, Makindu, Mtito Andei, Kathonzweni, Kalawa and Kibwezi.

This shows that the highest concentration of people is in the hilly areas of the district, which are rich in natural resource potential while the least concentration is in the low lying and semi arid divisions. The high population density and consequent scarcity of land have tended to push people out of their ancestral land in search of settlement in the lower regions of the district. This has forced the government to open up new settlement schemes in Kibwezi, Makindu, Mtito Andei and Nguu divisions (namely Kibwezi, Kiboko A, Kiboko B, Masongaleni and Mikululo). More people are still looking for land to settle. There are currently more than 30,000 squatters in the district

Source Makueni District Development Plan 2002-2008