| Mount Longonot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,776 m (9,108 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Volcanoes in Kenya |
| Coordinates | 0°54′55″S36°27′25″E / 0.91528°S 36.45694°E /-0.91528; 36.45694 |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Oloonong'ot (Masai) |
| Geography | |
  Mount Longonot | |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 1863 ± 5 years[1] |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Scramble |
Mount Longonot is astratovolcano located southeast ofLake Naivasha in theGreat Rift Valley ofKenya,Africa. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s.[1] Its name is derived from theMaasai wordOloonong'ot, meaning "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges".
Mount Longonot is protected by theKenya Wildlife Service as part ofMount 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 ofNairobi and may be reached from there by a tarmac road. A nearby town is also namedLongonot. The Longonotsatellite earth station is located south of the mountain.
Longonot is astratovolcano which contains a large 8 x 12 kmcaldera formed by vast eruptions oftrachytic lava some 21,000 years ago. The current summit cone was developed within the earliercaldera. This cone itself is capped by a 1.8 km crater. The mountain has severalparasitic cones and effusive lava eruptions occur on the flanks and within thecaldera floor.[1] Periodicgeodetic activity recorded at Longonot in 2004–2006 demonstrated the presence of active magmatic systems beneath this volcano.[2]
As of 2018[update],geothermal projects struggle to explore the potential.[3]
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, notablyplains zebra,giraffe,Thomson's gazelle,buffaloes andhartebeest.
The crater is popular for hiking, bird and game watching that is enhanced by the flora and fauna on the slopes of the mountain.[4]
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.[5]
