Mount Longonot
Encyclopedia
Mount Longonot is a dormant stratovolcano
located southeast of Lake Naivasha
in the Great Rift Valley
of Kenya
, Africa
. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Its name is derived from the Maasai
word oloonong'ot, meaning "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges".
Mount Longonot is protected by the Kenya Wildlife Service
as part of Mount Longonot National Park. A trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a loop encircling the crater. The whole tour is only about 8–9 km long but very steep, so that the round trip of park gate - Longonot Peak - park gate takes around 5 hrs hiking. The gate is around 2150 m asl and the peak at 2780 m asl but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 m vertical difference.
A forest of small trees covers the crater floor, and small steam vents are found spaced around the walls of the crater. The mountain is home to various species of wildlife, notably zebra
and giraffe
and buffaloes
(droppings on the rim) and hartebeest
. Leopards have also been reported but are extremely difficult to spot.
Mount Longonot is 60 kilometres northwest of Nairobi
and may be reached from there by a tarmac road. The road was re-done by the EU and is now excellent, reducing travel time from Nairobi to around an hour. A nearby town is also named Longonot. The Longonot satellite earth station
is located south of the mountain.
On March 21, 2009 Brush Fires burned up the side of the mountain and descended into the crater, trapping wildlife and feeding on drought ravaged brush.
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
located southeast of Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi, outside the town of Naivasha. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name Nai'posha, meaning "rough water" because of the sudden storms which can arise...
in the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Its name is derived from the Maasai
Maasai language
The Maasai language is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 800,000...
word oloonong'ot, meaning "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges".
Mount Longonot is protected by the Kenya Wildlife Service
Kenya Wildlife Service
The Kenya Wildlife Service, otherwise known by the initialism KWS, is a Kenyan state corporation that was established in 1990 to conserve and manage Kenya’s wildlife...
as part of Mount Longonot National Park. A trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a loop encircling the crater. The whole tour is only about 8–9 km long but very steep, so that the round trip of park gate - Longonot Peak - park gate takes around 5 hrs hiking. The gate is around 2150 m asl and the peak at 2780 m asl but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 m vertical difference.
A forest of small trees covers the crater floor, and small steam vents are found spaced around the walls of the crater. The mountain is home to various species of wildlife, notably zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
and giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
and buffaloes
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
(droppings on the rim) and hartebeest
Hartebeest
The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....
. Leopards have also been reported but are extremely difficult to spot.
Mount Longonot is 60 kilometres northwest of Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
and may be reached from there by a tarmac road. The road was re-done by the EU and is now excellent, reducing travel time from Nairobi to around an hour. A nearby town is also named Longonot. The Longonot satellite earth station
Satellite earth station
A ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
is located south of the mountain.
On March 21, 2009 Brush Fires burned up the side of the mountain and descended into the crater, trapping wildlife and feeding on drought ravaged brush.