The Great Mt. Kenya: a Geographical Analysis

The great Mt. Kenya is located in Kenya and based on its height; it is the highest mountain in Kenya and statistically considered to be the second highest mountain in Africa, the first one being Kilimanjaro. The Mt Kenya has several highest peaks which include; Lenana, Batian and Nelion. Part of the mountain, around 276 square miles is set aside as a National Park. In addition it is also designated as a World Heritage site which makes it very attractive and attracts large numbers of visitors every year as tourists (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2007).

Mount Kenya is located about 150 kilometers from the capital city of Kenya which is Nairobi. The close location makes it convenient for the people who wish to go mountaineering and hiking. Other activities carried out on the mountain include bird watching and viewing of the much wildlife that are found around the mountain. There is also an increased or large numbers of bird species that can be viewed by the tourists visiting the mountain. Geographically, Mt Kenya is located inside the Mt. Kenya National Park. The mountain is considered quit difficult to climb to the peak because of its nature. This implies that it requires a lot of practice and exercise before making several attempts to the peak (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2007).

The mountain is an extinct volcano which makes it less dangerous for the mountaineers to ascent to the top without any volcanic eruption that might cause death. This makes the mountain to be much more favorable all year round for activities like hiking. However, during the rainy season it usually becomes very difficult because of the mud and the risk of sliding. The mountain is made up of different regions or zones which include; the afro-alpine moorland that is largely field with vegetation, the rocky peak zone and the wide lower slopes that are largely covered with forests and other forms of vegetation in the area (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2007).

As an overwhelming display, the mountain dominates the highlands present in Central Kenya. The ecological diversity is considered to be one of the attractive scenes of the mountain which attracts large numbers of tourists. Apart from tourists, large numbers of scientists are also attracted to the site for purposes of research and other academic works. Based on the consistent research, it has been found out that there are more than 80 different species of plants which are found in no other region in the whole world. This becomes a factor that intrigues the scientists and even the tourists from different parts of the world to visit the mountain and study such natural resources and features.

The lower region which is the forest zone is filled with many wild animals such as monkeys that are attracted by the trees, bushbuck, buffalos, elephants and Sykes. Some of the wild animals have the ability of climbing to different regions of the mountain while others like elephants cannot make it because of their large and heavy bodies (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2007).

Mount Kenya has a large number of fans who are fascinated by the hiking process and this makes it one of the best mountains for an expedition. The mountain also helps many people around the area by acting as a source for River Tana which is also Kenya’s biggest river. There are different routes for those wishing to climb the mountain and also several hotels for relaxing after carrying out the expedition (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2007).