Mount Longonot
{{short description|Volcano in Kenya}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Longonot
| native_name= {{native name|mas|Oloonong'ot}}
| photo = 2013-01-23 07-24-03 Kenya Rift Valley - Kijabe.jpg
| photo_caption =
| elevation_m = 2776
| prominence_m =
| prominence_ref=
| range =
| listing = Volcanoes in Kenya
| location = Great Rift Valley, Kenya
| map = Kenya
| coordinates = {{coord|0|54|55|S|36|27|25|E|type:mountain|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref=
| topo =
| type = Stratovolcano
| age =
| last_eruption = 1863 ± 5 years{{cite gvp|vn=222100|name=Longonot|access-date=21 March 2021}}
| easiest_route = Scramble
}}
Mount Longonot is a 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 3.1 km trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a 7.2 km loop encircling the crater. The whole tour (gate-around the rim-gate) of 13.5 km takes about 4–5 hours allowing for necessary rest breaks - parts of the trail are heavily eroded and very steep. The gate elevation is around 2150 m and the peak at 2776 m but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 m vertical difference.
Mount Longonot is 60 kilometres northwest of Nairobi and may be reached from there by a tarmac road. A nearby town is also named Longonot. The Longonot satellite earth station is located south of the mountain.
Geology
Longonot is a stratovolcano which contains a large 8 x 12 km caldera formed by vast eruptions of trachytic lava some 21,000 years ago. The current summit cone was developed within the earlier caldera. This cone itself is capped by a 1.8 km crater. The mountain has several parasitic cones and effusive lava eruptions occur on the flanks and within the caldera floor. Periodic geodetic activity recorded at Longonot in 2004–2006 demonstrated the presence of active magmatic systems beneath this volcano.{{Cite journal | last1 = Biggs | first1 = J. | last2 = Anthony | first2 = E. Y. | last3 = Ebinger | first3 = C. J. | doi = 10.1130/G30133A.1 | title = Multiple inflation and deflation events at Kenyan volcanoes, East African Rift | journal = Geology | volume = 37 | issue = 11 | pages = 979 | year = 2009 }}
{{asof|2018}}, geothermal projects struggle to explore the potential.{{cite web |title=National Bank chairman's geothermal vehicle misses steam well drilling target |url=http://energysiren.co.ke/2018/09/11/national-bank-chairmans-geothermal-vehicle-misses-steam-well-drilling-target/ |website=Energy Siren |access-date=17 March 2019 |date=11 September 2018}}
Flora and fauna
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 plains zebra, giraffe, Thomson's gazelle, buffaloes and hartebeest.
The crater is popular for hiking, bird and game watching that is enhanced by the flora and fauna on the slopes of the mountain.{{Cite web |last=polly |date=2024-03-04 |title=Activities to do in Mount Longonot National Park {{!}} Kenya Safaris |url=https://www.nairobinationalparkkenya.com/activities-to-do-in-mount-longonot-national-park/blog/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=Nairobi National Park Kenya |language=en-US}}
Notable events
On March 21, 2009 bush fires burned up the side of the mountain and descended into the crater, trapping wildlife and feeding on drought-ravaged brush.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7961635.stm | work=BBC News | title=Kenyan forces deployed for fires | date=March 24, 2009 | access-date=May 13, 2010}}
File:Longonot Earth Station 2010.jpg
{{wide image|Mt.-Longonot-Crater---Feb-2010.jpg|800px|Panoramic view of Mount Longonot crater in 2010}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100224044518/http://www.kws.go.ke/parks/parks_reserves/MLNP.html Kenya Wildlife Service – Mount Longonot National Park]
- [http://www.kijabe.org/longocam Webcam pointed at Mt. Longonot from Kijabe]
{{Great Rift Valley, Kenya}}
{{National Parks of Kenya}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longonot}}
Category:Stratovolcanoes of Kenya
Category:Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley
Category:National parks of Kenya
Category:Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
Category:Pleistocene stratovolcanoes
Category:Holocene stratovolcanoes
{{Kenya-geo-stub}}