Landforms

The Serengeti

Also Known As Endless Plains (from the Maa word seringit)

Citation Formats

General Reference

Geography Atlas. "The Serengeti." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://geography.interactiveatlas.org/landforms/the-serengeti.

APA Style

Geography Atlas. (n.d.). The Serengeti. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://geography.interactiveatlas.org/landforms/the-serengeti

BibTeX

@misc{geographyatlas-the-serengeti,
  author = {Geography Atlas},
  title = {The Serengeti},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://geography.interactiveatlas.org/landforms/the-serengeti},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Serengeti is a geographical region spanning the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania and extending into southwestern Kenya, encompassing riverine forests, swamps, kopjes, grasslands and woodlands. The protected area within it, including Serengeti National Park and several game reserves, covers approximately 30,000 square kilometers. It hosts one of the world's largest land animal migrations by total body weight: an annual movement of some 260,000 zebras that precede 1.7 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other plains game, including around 470,000 gazelles. Its name is often said to derive from the Maa word seringit, meaning endless plains.

Facts

Area (sq km)

30,000 1

Figure is for the protected area within the wider Serengeti region (Serengeti National Park plus game reserves), not the full ecosystem extent, which sources do not give as a single number.

Highest Elevation (m)

1850 1

Upper bound of the plains' altitude range (920 to 1,850 m above sea level) per the cited source.

Latitude

2.33083 degrees south 1

Longitude

34.83333 degrees east 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Kenya

Source Serengeti (Wikipedia)

Tanzania

Source Serengeti (Wikipedia)

On Continent

Africa

Source Serengeti (Wikipedia)

Sources

1. Serengeti (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationEtymology

Quote, Etymology

The name 'Serengeti' is often said to be derived from the word 'seringit' in Maa, meaning 'endless plains.'

View the Source

1. Serengeti (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationProtected area section

Quote, Protected area section

The protected area within the region includes approximately 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves.

View the Source

1. Serengeti (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationLead section

Quote, Lead section