Hell's Gate National Park
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Hell's Gate National Park is a national park situated near
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 situated in the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''ɛnaɨpɔ́sha '', meaning ...
in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. The park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the
Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...
. It was established in 1984. The park is notable for its wide variety of wildlife and for its scenery. This includes the Fischer's Tower and Central Tower
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s and Hell's Gate Gorge. The
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
is also home to five
geothermal power stations Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal heat ...
at Olkaria. The park features three basic campsites and includes a Maasai Cultural Center, providing education about the Maasai culture and traditions.


History

Hell's Gate National Park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It received the name "Hell's Gate" by explorers Gustav Fischer of Germany and Joseph Thomson of Britain during their rival expeditions in 1883. In the early 1900s, Mount Longonot erupted, and ash can still be felt around Hell's Gate.


Geography

Hell's Gate covers an area of . The park is at above sea level. It is within
Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is county number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Fourth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ran ...
, near
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 situated in the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''ɛnaɨpɔ́sha '', meaning ...
and approximately from
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
. The park is located after the turnoff from the old Nairobi-Naivasha highway, and has a warm and dry climate. Olkaria and Hobley's, two extinct volcanoes located in the park, can be seen as well as obsidian forms from the cool molten lava. Within Hell's Gate is the Hells Gate Gorge, lined with red cliffs which contain two volcanic plugs: Fischer's Tower and Central Tower. Off of Central Tower is a smaller gorge which extends to the south, with a path that descends into
hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
that have rocks hot enough to cause burns, and sulfuric water.Hodd, 153.


Wildlife

Wildlife in the national park includes
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
s,
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
s, and
cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...
s. However, the park has historically been an important home for the rare bearded vultures. There are over 103 species of birds in the park, including
vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
,
Verreaux's eagle Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis'') of south and southeast Asia. ...
s, augur buzzards, and swifts.
Hyrax Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, stout, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the family Procaviidae within the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Modern hyraxes are typically between in length a ...
es, African buffaloes,
zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped Animal coat, coats. There are three Extant taxon, living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and t ...
, elands, hartebeests, Thomson's gazelles,
hyenas Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliformia, feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the Family (biology), family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the orde ...
, and baboons are also common. The park is also home to
serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild small cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, where it inhabits grasslands, wetlands, moorlands and bamboo thickets. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and ...
and small numbers of
klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zi ...
antelope and Chanler's mountain reedbuck.


Tourism

The park is popular due to its close proximity to
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
and lowered park fees compared to other national parks. Hiking, cycling, motorcycling and even camping are encouraged within the park, one of only two Kenyan national parks where this is allowed. The Daily Nation praised the mountain climbing in Hell's Gate as "thrilling." It also recommended the Joy Adamson's Centre and boating on
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 situated in the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''ɛnaɨpɔ́sha '', meaning ...
. A Maasai Cultural Centre provides education about the Maasai tribe's culture and traditions. The park is equipped with three basic campsites; camping is safe in the park, even though there are no guns or fencing between you and wildlife. There are also several lodges around Naivasha Lake, popular among tourists for watersports, bird and game viewing in private ranches and walks along Crescent Island, Crater Lake, and Mt. Longonot. The main setting of the 1994 animated film ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' is heavily modelled after the park, which several of the film's lead crew members had visited to study and gain an appreciation of the environment for the film. The 2003 film '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life'' was shot on location in this park.


Olkaria Geothermal Power Station

The comprehensive Olkaria Geothermal Station, the first of its kind in Africa, was established in 1981 and generates geothermal power underneath Hell's Gate from the area's hot springs and geysers. Three more geothermal stations were added after 2000: Olkaria II, Olkaria III and Olkaria IV. The construction of the 140MW Olkaria V commenced in 2017 and the plant came online in 2019. As of 2019, a significant part of the Hell's Gate National Park has turned into an industrial area, with many pipelines, power plants and busy tarmac roads.


References


External links

* https://www.kws.go.ke/hells-gate-national-park Geology of the Olkaria Volcanic Complex: * John Lagat: Geology and the geothermal systems of the southern segment of the Kenya Rift. International Geothermal Conference, Reykjavík, Sept. 2003. https://www.academia.edu/72663169/Geology_and_the_geothermal_systems_of_the_southern_segment_of_the_Kenya_Rift (PDF) {{authority control National parks of Kenya Geography of Rift Valley Province Nakuru County Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in Kenya Tourist attractions in Rift Valley Province