[2] The main stream, the Nairobi River, bounds the northern city center, where it is partly canalized.

Gatharaini[5] stream originates in the marshes of the lower reaches of the Aberdare mountains and flows through various populated areas.

In the upper sections of Kiambaa and Kanunga, the stream passes through swampy and marshy areas, with subsistence agriculture and human settlement as the main types of land use.

In Eastern Nairobi it passes through Nairobi Sewerage Company in Ngundu,Kamulu In the lower sections of Githurai and Zimmerman, the stream is characterized by coffee farming, intensive mixed farming, and industry such as the Kamiti Tannery Factory.

In the past, riverine subsistence agriculture of arrowroots and kale was common throughout the area.