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 on the border of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

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 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 Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important p ...

and west of Kitale. 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 historica ...

. The mountain's name originates from its Maasai name, Elgonyi.

Physical features

Mount Elgon is a massive solitary volcanic mountain 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 * Endebess Bluff () * Ngwarisha, Makingeny, Chepnyalil, and Kitum caves: Kitum Cave 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 Elephantida ...

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'' in 1994 for its association with the Marburg virus 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 Suam River, which becomes the Turkwel downstream and drains into Lake Turkana, and the Nzoia River and the Lwakhakha River, which flow to Lake Victoria. The town of Kitale 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. This population was formerly present around all the mountain, but has since been reduced to the Kenyan side, where they venture into Kitum Cave. 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 The Thomas's pygmy mouse (''Mus sorella'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. It ...

(''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 ...

(''Macronyx sharpei''), Hunter's cisticola (''Cisticola hunteri''), Jackson's spurfowl (''Pternistis jacksoni''), and the Elgon francolin (''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 else ...

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 ran ...

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

Du Toit's torrent frog (''Arthroleptides dutoiti''), considered an EDGE species 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'', '' Echinops hoehnelii'', '' Ranunculus keniensis'', and '' Romulea keniensis''.

Local ethnicities

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

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

, better known in the region under the derogatory umbrella term

Ndorobo Dorobo (or ''Ndorobo'', ''Wadorobo'', ''dorobo'', ''Torobo'') is a derogatory umbrella term for several unrelated hunter-gatherer groups of Kenya and Tanzania. They comprised client groups to the Maasai and did not practice cattle pastoralism. Ety ...

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 cler ...

, 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