A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely. A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification that treats steppe climates (BSk and BSh) as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short or scrubby vegetation, with semi-arid areas usually being dominated by either grasses or shrubs.

To determine if a location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. Finding the precipitation threshold (in millimeters) involves first multiplying the average annual temperature in °C by 20, then adding 280 if 70% or more of the total precipitation is in the high-sun half of the year (April through September in the Northern Hemisphere, or October through March in the Southern), or 140 if 30%–70% of the total precipitation is received during the applicable period, or 0 if less than 30% of the total precipitation is so received. If the area's annual precipitation is less than the threshold but more than half the threshold, it is classified as a BS (steppe climate).

The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburu to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan and Ethiopia to the north. They refer to their land as Turkan.

According to the 2009 Kenyan census, Turkana number 855,399, or 2.5% of the Kenyan population, making Turkana the third largest Nilotic ethnic group in Kenya, after the Kalenjin and the Luo, slightly more numerous than the Maasai, and the tenth largest ethnicity in all of Kenya. Although this figure was initially controversial and rejected as too large by Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya, a court ruling (Feb 7, 2012) by Justice Mohammed Warsame stated that the Kenyan government accepts the 2009 census figures for Turkana.

The language of the Turkana, an Eastern Nilotic language, is also called Turkana; their own name for it is ŋaTurkana or aŋajep a ŋaTurkana.

The Turkana people call themselves ŋiTurkana (The Turkana). The name means the people of Turkan. They are mainly semi-nomadic pastoralists.

David Eldridge (died 3 June 1797) is the earliest known person of European descent to die in the Western Reserve, and the first person to be buried in the newly-created city of Cleveland. One of the employees of the Connecticut Land Company, he drowned at about 11:00am on June 3, 1797, while attempting to swim his horse across the Grand River, despite being strongly advised to the contrary. He was nearly an hour in the water, before his body could be pulled out. Boats were put into the river, and Rev. Seth Hart, superintendent of the surveying party, used every precaution to save him, without effect. His corpse was brought to the Cuyahoga River .

On the morning of June 4th, a piece of land was selected for burial, on the north parts of lot 97 and 98, between Prospect and Huron streets, on the east side of Ontario street. Members of the party used wooden boards to build a strong box for a coffin. They placed him in, and strung the box on a pole with cords, to carry him up to the burial ground. A funeral service was held, and a fence was built around the grave. . He was one of three in the surveying party to die that season; William Andrews and Peleg Washburn both died of dysentery at Cleveland, in August or September, and were buried next to Eldridge. The original burial ground was moved to Erie Street in 1835. His remains are now located in the Erie Street Cemetery in Cleveland. In the early 2000s, while improvements were being made to buildings currently on the original location of his burial, human bones were discovered.

Maria Cecília Marques (born May 5, 1976 in Rio de Janeiro) is a female water polo player from Brazil, who won the bronze medal with the Brazil women's national water polo team at the 2003 Pan American Games. She played in a defending role in the national squad.