Mount Elgon is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

on the border of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and

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

, north of

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...

and west of

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda."Mount Elgon, Uganda" Peakbagger.com.
Retrieved 11 January 2012 Although there is no verifiable evidence of its earliest volcanic activity, geologists estimate that Mount Elgon is at least 24 million years old, making it the oldest extinct volcano in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The mountain's name originates from its

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

name, Elgonyi.

Physical features

Mount Elgon is a massive solitary

volcanic mountain A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

on the border of eastern Uganda and western Kenya. Its vast form, in diameter, rises above the surrounding plains. Its cooler heights offer respite for humans from the hot plains below, and its higher altitudes provide a refuge for flora and fauna. Mt. Elgon consists of five major peaks: * Wagagai (), in Uganda * Sudek () on the Kenya/Uganda border * Koitobos (), a flat-topped basalt column in Kenya * Mubiyi () in Uganda * Masaba () in Uganda Other features of note are: * The

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

— Elgon's is one of the largest intact calderas in the world. * The warm springs by the

Suam River The Turkwel River (sometimes spelled Turkwell River) is a river flowing from Mount Elgon on the border of Kenya and Uganda to Lake Turkana. The river is called the Suam River from its source to the border at West Pokot County of Kenya. The name ...

Endebess Bluff Endebess is a small town that houses the headquarters for the division in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya. The town is located 17 kilometers west of Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and ...

() * Ngwarisha, Makingeny, Chepnyalil, and Kitum caves:

Kitum Cave Kitum Cave is located in Mount Elgon National Park, Kenya. In the 1980s, two European visitors contracted Marburg virus disease there. It is one of five named “elephant caves” of Mount Elgon where animals, including elephants, “mine” the ...

is over wide and penetrates . The cave contains salt deposits and it is frequented by wild

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s that lick the salt exposed by gouging the walls with their tusks. It became notorious following the publication of Richard Preston's book ''

The Hot Zone ''The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story'' is a best-selling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The basis of the book ...

'' in 1994 for its association with the

Marburg virus Marburg virus (MARV) is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the ''Filoviridae'' family of viruses and a member of the species '' Marburg marburgvirus'', genus ''Marburgvirus''. It causes Marburg virus disease in primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic f ...

after two people who had visited the cave (one in 1980 and another in 1987) contracted the disease and died. The mountain soils are red

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

. The mountain is the catchment area for the several rivers such as the

, which becomes the Turkwel downstream and drains into Lake Turkana, and the Nzoia River and the Lwakhakha River, which flow to

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. The town of

is in the foothills of the mountain. The area around the mountain is protected by two Mount Elgon National Parks, one on each side of the international border.

Fauna

A unique population of African bush elephants is present around the mountain that venture deep into caves to access

salt licks A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farm ...

. This population was formerly present around all the mountain, but has since been reduced to the Kenyan side, where they venture into

. There are several disjunct populations of mammal species that are restricted to Mount Elgon, including the Elgon shrew (''Crocidura elgonius''), Rudd's mole-rat (''Tachyoryctes ruddi''), and Thomas's pygmy mouse (''Mus sorella''). There are also several disjunct populations of rare bird species, including

Sharpe's longclaw Sharpe's longclaw (''Macronyx sharpei'') is a passerine bird in the longclaw family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and wagtails. It is endemic to Kenya. It is 16–17 cm long, with upperparts heavily marked with buff and rufo ...

(''Macronyx sharpei''),

Hunter's cisticola Hunter's cisticola (''Cisticola hunteri'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are tropical moist montane and high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, br ...

(''Cisticola hunteri''),

Jackson's spurfowl Jackson's spurfowl or Jackson's francolin (''Pternistis jacksoni'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Kenya and Uganda. Its preferred habitats include mountainous forests and stands of bamboo. The species is named aft ...

(''Pternistis jacksoni''), and the

Elgon francolin The Elgon francolin (''Scleroptila elgonensis'') is a francolin found in moorland at altitudes above from eastern Uganda (Mount Elgon) to central Kenya.McGowan, P. J. K. (1994). Moorland Francolin (''Francolinus elgonensis''). Pp. 494 in: del Ho ...

(''Scleroptila elgonensis''). An

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

subspecies of the

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

(''Tragelaphus scriptus heterochrous'') is restricted to the mountain. The possibly

Du Toit's torrent frog Du Toit's torrent frog, the Mt. Elgon torrent frog, or the Kenya rocky river frog (''Arthroleptides dutoiti'') is a species of frog in the family Petropedetidae endemic to Mount Elgon in Kenya; it has not been found on the Ugandan part of the mou ...

(''Arthroleptides dutoiti''), considered an

EDGE species Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species are animal species which have a high 'EDGE score', a metric combining endangered conservation status with the genetic distinctiveness of the particular taxon. Distinctive species have ...

due to its evolutionary distinctiveness, is known only from a single specimen collected on the Kenyan side of the mountain.

Flora

Some rare plants are found on the mountain, including '' Ardisiandra wettsteinii'', ''

Carduus afromontanus ''Carduus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, and the tribe Cardueae, one of two genera considered to be true thistles, the other being ''Cirsium''. Plants of the genus are known commonly as plumeless thistles.

'', '' Echinops hoehnelii'', ''

Ranunculus keniensis ''Ranunculus'' is a List of the largest genera of flowering plants, large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water c ...

'', and '' Romulea keniensis''.

Local ethnicities

Mount Elgon and its tributaries are home to four tribes, the

Bagisu The Gisu people, or ''Bamasaba'' people of Elgon, are a Bantu tribe of the Masaba people of eastern Uganda, closely related to the Bukusu people of Kenya. Bamasaba live mainly in the Mbale District of Uganda on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Ancestor ...

, the Sapinjek, the Sabaot, and the

Ogiek The Okiek (Ogiek: ), sometimes called the Ogiek or Akiek (although the term Akiek sometimes refers to a distinct subgroup), are a Southern Nilotic ethnic group native to Tanzania and Southern Kenya (in the Mau Forest), and Western Kenya (in the M ...

, better known in the region under the derogatory umbrella term Ndorobo.

Gallery

File:Elgon hut 1.jpg, Sudek and Lower Elgon from the Old Elgon Hut, burned down 1975, on the Kimilili approach File:Sacred lake.jpg, The

sacred lake Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

, just outside the crater rim and below Sudek File:Pinnacle on Sudek.jpg, upleft, A climber on a Sudek Pinnacle Image:Koitobos.jpg, Koitobos peak, Kenya File:Koitoboss.jpg, Koitobos and the moorland above The Mount Elgon National Park

References

External links

Kenya Wildlife Service – Mount Elgon National Park

Mount Elgon National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgon, Mount Bungoma County Trans-Nzoia County Volcanoes of Kenya Calderas of Africa Calderas of Kenya Mountains of Uganda Volcanoes of Uganda Mountains of Kenya Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley Extinct volcanoes Kenya–Uganda border International mountains of Africa Four-thousanders of Africa East African montane forests Miocene shield volcanoes