KENYA, a great volcanic mountain in Kenya Colony, just south of the equator in 37° 20' E. It is one of the highest moun tains of Africa, its highest peak reaching an altitude of about 17,040 ft. The central core, which consists of several steep pyramids, is that of a much denuded old volcano. This central core (the highest point) is a nepheline syenite, the sides are of ashes and tuffs and the lavas consist of phonolites, kenytes and olivine basalts. Lavas dip in all directions from the central crys talline core. From the central peaks, ridges radiate outwards, separated by broad valleys, ending upwards in vast cirques. The most important ridges centre in the peak Lenana (16,30o ft.) at the eastern end of the central group, and through it runs the chief water-parting of the mountain, in a north to south direc tion. Three main valleys, the Hinde, Gorges and Hobley valleys, run down to the east, and four—Mackinder, Hausberg, Teleki and Hohnel—to the west. From the central peaks fifteen glaciers, all lying west of the main divide, descend to the north and south, the two largest being the Lewis and Gregory glaciers, each r m. long, which, with the smaller Kolb glacier, lie immediately west of the main divide. Most of the glaciers terminate at an alti tude of 14,800-14,900 ft. Glaciation was formerly more extensive, old moraines being observed down to 12,000 feet.
In the upper valleys a number of lakes occur, occupying hollows and rock basins in the agglomerates and ashes, fed by springs, and feeding many of the streams that drain the mountain slopes. The largest of these are Lake Hanel (14,00o ft.) and Lake Michaelson (12,70o ft.?). At a dis tance from the central core the radiating ridges become less abrupt and descend with a gentle gradient into the level plateau (7 ,000 ft.). These outer slopes are clothed
with dense forest and jungle, composed chiefly of junipers and Podocarpus, and between 8,000 and 9,800 ft. of huge bam boos. The forest zone extends to about 10,500 ft., above which is the steeper alpine zone, in which pasturages alternate with • --- . rocks and crags. This extends to a gen eral height of about 15,0m ft., but in damp, sheltered valleys the pasturages extend some distance higher. The only trees or shrubs in this zone are the giant Senecio (groundsel) and Lobelia, and tree-heaths.
Of the fauna of the lower slopes, tracks of elephant, leopard and buffalo have been seen, between 11,50o and 14,500 ft. That of the alpine zone includes two species of dassy (Procavia), a coney (Hyrax), and a rat (Otomys). The bird fauna is of con siderable interest, the finest species of the upper zone being an eagle-owl, met with at 14,000 ft. At r r,000 ft. was found a brown chat, with a good deal of white in the tail. Kenya was first seen, from a distance, by the missionary Ludwig Krapf in 1849 ; approached from the west by Joseph Thomson in 1883 ; partially ascended by Count S. Teleki (1889), J. W. Gregory (1893) and Georg Kolb (1896) ; and its summit reached by H. J. Mackinder in 1899.
See J. W. Gregory, "Geology of Mt. Kenya," Quarterly Journ. of Geol. Soc. (1900) ; The Rift-Valleys and Geology of East Africa (1921). H. J. Mackinder, "Journey to the Summit of Mount Kenya," Geog. May 5900.