Mount Elgon is an extinct

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. 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 south ...

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 politic ...

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 ...

. 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 histori ...

. The mountain's name originates from its

Maasai Maasai may refer to: *Maasai people *Maasai language *Maasai mythology The Maasai mythology or Maasai religion are the traditional beliefs of the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania. In Maasai culture, nature and its elements are important facets ...

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 ...

— 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 Elephantidae ...

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 w ...

'' 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 ...

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 The Nzoia River is a Kenyan river, rising from Cherangany hills. It passes through Kapsara, Springer ,Moi's bridge then crosses to Kakamega county.It flows south and then west, eventually flowing into Lake Victoria near the town of Port Victoria. ...

and the

Lwakhakha River Lwakhakha may refer to the following: * Lwakhakha, Uganda, the Ugandan town on the border with Kenya. * Lwakhakha, Kenya, the Kenyan town on the border with Uganda {{Disambig ...

, 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 Park Mount Elgon National Park is a national park northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers while the Kenyan part covers . The Kenyan part of the p ...

s, one on each side of the international border.

Fauna

A unique population of

African bush elephants The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body m ...

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 (''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 a ...

(''Macronyx sharpei''), Hunter's cisticola (''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 (''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 els ...

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 rang ...

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

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 hav ...

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 ''Echinops'' is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They have spiny foliage and produce blue or white spherical flower heads. They are native to Europe, east to centr ...

'', ''

Ranunculus keniensis ''Ranunculus'' is a 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 crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe, ...

'', and ''

Romulea keniensis ''Romulea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1772. It is distributed in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa.Bagisu, the Sapinjek, the Sabaot, and the Ogiek, 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 cleric. ...

, 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