Kinangop
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The Kinangop Plateau is a region in Kenya that lies between the Kenyan Rift Valley to the west and the Aberdare Range to the east. It takes its name from Kinangop Mountain, which rises in the Aberdares to the east.


Geographical features

The edge of the plateau is about in elevation. The plateau is relatively flat, sloping gradually upwards towards the foothills of the Aberdares. Rainfall is around annually, with more rainfall in the north than the south. Streams that feed the
Malewa Malewa is smoked bamboo shoot which is dried for preservation. The bamboo trees grow in the wild in eastern Uganda around Mt. Elgon in the districts of Bududa, Sironko and Mbale. Origin Malewa originated from Eastern Uganda in the Bugisu sub-reg ...
and
Karati Konso (also known as Karati) is a town on the Sagan River in south-western Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Konso special woreda of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and ...
rivers have cut into the plateau. These rivers in turn flow into Lake Naivasha. Soils include ando‐luvic and verto‐luvic
phaeozem A Phaeozem in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a dark soil with a high Soil#Base saturation percentage, base status, but without a secondary carbonates within one metre of the soil surface. Phaeozems correlate with the Udolls ...
s. At one time the plateau was almost completely covered in tussocky grassland with very few trees. The stream valleys had many tussocky bogs.


Colonial era

After a railway was built, in the 1920s to 1940s the Wanjohi Valley became a British settler community that gained notoriety as the " Happy Valley set". The immigrants bought land at low cost to raise sheep and cattle.
Idina Sackville Lady Myra Idina Sackville (26 February 1893 – 5 November 1955) was an English aristocrat and member of the Happy Valley set. Her behaviour and lifestyle scandalised middle class society. Early life Lady Myra Idina Sackville was born on 26 F ...
, a member of this set, bought a plot on the side of the
Kipipiri Mountain Mount Kipipiri is an isolated volcano in the Wanjohi Valley, on the Kinangop Plateau near to the Aberdare Range. It is about northeast of Lake Naivasha, which is visible from the summit. Wildlife includes Colobus and Sykes monkeys, elephants and ...
, which rises above the plateau, building a house called "Clouds" that became notorious for parties involving drug use and promiscuous sex. Josslyn Hay, a member of this set, was shot dead in 1941. During the
Mau Mau emergency The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...
between 1952 and 1960, huge areas of the "White Highlands" were designated prohibited or restricted to non-Europeans. The Aberdares, Kinangop plateau and
Mount Kipipiri Mount Kipipiri is an isolated volcano in the Wanjohi Valley, on the Kinangop Plateau near to the Aberdare Range. It is about northeast of Lake Naivasha, which is visible from the summit. Wildlife includes Colobus and Sykes monkeys, elephants and ...
were among these. Any African found in the area could legally be shot on sight. Their presence justified "reasonable suspicion" that they were terrorists.


Today

The plateau has been settled by
Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: *Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Centr ...
farmers since the 1960s. They have ploughed much of the land to grow maize, wheat, cabbage and potatoes. They have replaced the tussocks by grasses that are easier for livestock to eat, and have planted woodlots across the plateau. The wetlands have mostly been drained. Where drainage has not been deliberate, the trees planted for poles and firewood have absorbed the water. Farm lots are being broken up to be divided between family members. The trend is away from animal husbandry and towards more intensive cultivation of food crops and cash crops.
Mount Kipipiri Mount Kipipiri is an isolated volcano in the Wanjohi Valley, on the Kinangop Plateau near to the Aberdare Range. It is about northeast of Lake Naivasha, which is visible from the summit. Wildlife includes Colobus and Sykes monkeys, elephants and ...
is a cone-shaped extinct volcano that rises from the plateau in the north. It is part of the Aberdare National Park. The mountain is completely ringed by an electric fence. In June 2009 lengthy negotiations were concluded over the alignment of a wildlife corridor between Kipipiri and the main Aberdare park, with plans to fence the corridor. Grids of rolling bars with gaps between them replace the fence at the points where roads cross the corridor, forming an obstacle that cars can cross but that wildlife will not attempt. This keeps the wildlife, particularly elephants, away from farmers' fields.


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{refend Plateaus of Africa Great Rift Valley Landforms of Kenya