The Kinangop Plateau is a region in

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

that lies between the

Kenyan Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues ...

to the west and the

Aberdare Range The Aberdare Range (formerly the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: ''Nyandarua'') is a 160 km (100 mile) long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It straddles across the counties of Nyandarua, Nye ...

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 rivers have cut into the plateau. These rivers in turn flow into

Lake Naivasha Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''Nai'posha'', meaning "rough wate ...

. Soils include ando‐luvic and verto‐luvic phaeozems. 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 Happy Valley set was a group of hedonistic, largely British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya and Uganda betwee ...

". 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, 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 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 Cent ...

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.

is a cone-shaped extinct volcano that rises from the plateau in the north. It is part of the

Aberdare National Park The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east. Overview The park is located about 10 ...

. 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