The Elementeita Badlands, also known as the Otutu Forest or Ututu Forest, is a

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

that covers approximately . The area was previously covered in thick

dryland Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

forest characterized by cedar trees, (''

Juniperus Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

'' spp.), and Leleshwa bushes (''

Tarchonanthus camphoratus ''Tarchonanthus camphoratus'' (known as camphor bush for its scent, or leleshwa in Kenya), is a shrub or small tree, widespread in Africa south of the Sahel. Description The camphor bush can reach up to 6 meters in height. The twigs and younger ...

''). In addition, Wild Jasmine and

Boophone ''Boophone'' is a small genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae.) It consists of two confirmed species distributed across South Africa to Kenya and Uganda. It is close ...

are also found. The land was owned by

Njenga Karume James Njenga Karume (1929 – 24 February 2012) was a Kenyan businessman and politician. He was born in Elementaita, Nakuru District. Early life Njenga Karume was born in 1929 on Lord Delamare's Soysambu ranch in Elementaita. He was t ...

, who bought it from Arthur Cole in 1980. Cole had bought it from

Digby Tatham-Warter Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter DSO (21 May 1917 – 21 March 1993), also known as Digby Tatham-Warter or just Digby, was a British Army officer who fought in the Second World War and was famed for wearing a bowler hat and carrying an umbrell ...

(famous for his role in the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...

) in 1968, as grazing land of low potential. The land is unsuitable for either small scale cultivation or cattle ranching as it is covered in thick bush growing from the profusion of lava boulders. It is now owned by the Njenga Karume Trust.

Geography

The land is punctuated by

pyroclastic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

s of

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

age. The highest peak has an elevation of 2126 metres. It is located between

Lake Elmenteita Lake Elmenteita is a soda lake, in the Great Rift Valley, about 120 km northwest of Nairobi, Kenya. Geography Elmenteita is derived from the Maasai word , meaning "dust place", a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, espec ...

and

Ol Doinyo Eburru Ol Doinyo Eburru is an active complex of volcanoes in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya to the northwest of Lake Naivasha. It is being exploited for geothermal energy. Soysambu Conservancy is located to the north of the massif, between Lake Elmentei ...

volcano, on the southern boundary of the Soysambu Conservancy. Some of the prominent peaks include "Horseshoe Crater" and "Scout Hat Hill". There are some

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

s which show evidence of prehistoric occupation as grinding plates and stone bowls have been recovered by the local people in rudimentary excavation. These caves have been occupied by some of the refugees from the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya.

People in the Elmenteita Badlands

The area was heavily degraded from the 1980s onwards, being a hideout for disaffected and disenfranchised people who have resorted to

charcoal burning A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this indust ...

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

and

changaa Changaa or Chang'aa is a traditional home-brewed spirit, popular in Kenya. It is made by fermentation and distillation from grains like millet, maize and sorghum, and is very potent. Regulation After being illegal in Kenya for many years, the K ...

brewing. A trading centre has been built at the northeastern corner known as "Soko Mjinga" (Fool's Market) which is the place to trade in these items. The living conditions in the Otutu forest have led to an outbreak of

leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus ''Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, ''Phlebotomus'' and ''Lutzomyia'', and occurs most freq ...

or Aleppo boil which is spread by

sandflies Sandfly (or sand fly) is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking dipteran (fly) encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, ''sandfly'' may refer to certain horse flies that are also known as "greenhea ...

and

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the das ...

, which are numerous there. The only sources of water are from some small steam vents beside the old railway line along the eastern boundary of the forest (currently a road), which ran between Elmenteita and

Gilgil Gilgil, Kenya, is a town in Nakuru County, Kenya. The town is located between Naivasha and Nakuru and along the Nairobi - Nakuru highway. It is to the west of the Gilgil River, which flows south to feed Lake Naivasha. Gilgil has a population ...

before it was realigned in 1945. The Eburru station (now defunct) is on the edge of the Otutu and is notable for the steam condensers made from oil drums and corrugated iron sheets which the residents construct for their water source. A luxury tourist lodge, called Mawe Mbili Lodge, is currently under construction on the western boundary of the forest, on the slopes of "Scout Hat Hill", so called because the shape resembles Baden Powell's hat. It is projected to open in March 2009. The water supply is from rainwater caught from plastic sheeting and from a deep and alkaline

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...

which provides water at over 50 degrees Celsius and a pH of nearly 8.

Gallery

References

External links

Global Volcanism Program: Elmenteita BadlandsSleeping Warrior Lodge.com: About the Soysambu Conservancy
Mawe Mbili.com: "stay on the edge of the forest"
��Chinese or Japanese language website, sans translation.--> {{Great Rift Valley, Kenya, state=collapsed Badlands Volcanoes of Kenya Landforms of Rift Valley Province Nakuru County Polygenetic volcanic fields Forests of Kenya Holocene volcanism Quaternary Africa