Mount Elgon

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Mount Elgon
Mount Elgon topography
Elevation	4,321 metres (14,178 feet)
Location	Uganda-Kenya
Prominence	2,458 m
Coordinates	1°8′N, 34°33′E
Topo map	Mount Elgon Map and Guide ^[1]
Type	Shield Volcano
Age of rock	Miocene origin
Last eruption	Unknown
First ascent	1911 by Kmunke and Stigler
Easiest route	scramble

Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya.^[2]

The mountain is named after the Elgeyo tribe, who once lived in huge caves on the south side of the mountain. It was known as "Ol Doinyo Ilgoon" (Breast Mountain) by the Maasai and as "Masaba" on the Ugandan side. It is the oldest and largest solitary volcano in East Africa, covering an area of around 3500 km².

Mt. Elgon consists of five major peaks:

Wagagai (4,321m), being in Uganda.
Sudek (4,302m or 14,140ft) in Kenya
Koitobos (4,222m or 13,248 ft), a flat topped basalt column (Kenya)
Mubiyi (4,211m or 13,816 ft)
Masaba (4,161m or 13,650 ft)

In 1896, C.W. Hobley became the first European to circumambulate the mountain. Kmunke and Stigler made the first recorded ascent of Wagagai and Koitobos in 1911. F. Jackson, E. Gedge, and J. Martin made the first recorded ascent of Sudek in 1890. The main peak is an easy scramble and does not require any mountaineering equipment.

Other interesting features are:

The caldera — Elgon's is one of the largest intact calderas in the world
The warm springs by the Suam River
Endebess Bluff (2563m or 8408 ft)
Ngwarisha, Makingeny, Chepnyalil and Kitum lava tube caves. Kitum Cave is over 60 metres wide and penetrates 200 metres. It is frequented by wild elephants who lick the salt exposed by gouging the walls with their tusks. It became notorious 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. The mountain is the catchment area for the several rivers such as the Suam River which becomes the Turkwel downstream and which drains into Lake Turkana, the Nzoia River and the Lwakhakha 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.

Some rare plants are found on the mountain, including Ardisiandra wettsteinii, Carduus afromontanus, Echinops hoehnelii, Ranunculus keniensis, and Romulea keniensis.