Mt Kenya

by Tamu Bending (the girl swimming on the home page)

Africa's 2^nd highest mountain, Formed between two and a half and three million years ago by an extinct volcano lying on the Equator . It has a base of 120 km ,on a clear day you can see for miles around ,though it snowy submit is sometimes surrounded by mist.

There are two peaks Batian (5,199meters)and Nelion(5,188meters) They are known to be named after two maasai ritual chiefs from the last century.

The Volcanic soils and the many rivers which flow down from the top of the mountain create a very fertile environment. Human agricultural activity currently extends to around 1900 metres (of which used to be rainforest)

At the height of 2500 metres the forests change to a very dense jungle of Bamboo and at 3000 metres moorelands surrounded by Abyssinian Hagenia trees hung with orchids,old mans beard and other tropical forest creepers.

The forest has a rich variety of wild life including elephants , buffalos, giant forest hogs, rhino ,lions, monkeys, and different species of antelope including the bongo . Leopards have been observed as high as 4,500 meters.

Johann Krapf (a German missionary) was laughed at when he said he had seen snow on the equator in 1841,but 34 years later Joseph Thompson confirmed it .