Aberdare National Park

Last updated
Aberdare National Park
Aberdare Park entrance.jpg
Aberdare Park entrance
Kenya relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Aberdare National Park
Location Kenya, Nyandarua County & Nyeri County
Nearest city Nyeri
Coordinates 0°25′48″S36°43′57″E / 0.43000°S 36.73250°E / -0.43000; 36.73250
Area767 km2 (296 sq mi)
Established1950
Governing body Kenya Wildlife Service

The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift Valley. [1] It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east.

Contents

Overview

Lake in Aberdare National Park Lake in Aberdare National Park.jpg
Lake in Aberdare National Park

The park is located about 100 km north of Nairobi and stretches over a wide variety of terrain at elevations from 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Established in May 1950, the Aberdare National Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The park contains a wide range of landscapes - from mountain peaks that rise to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, to their deep, v-shaped valleys intersected by streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Moorland, bamboo forests and rainforests are found at lower elevations.

History

Aberdare National Park was established in 1950 with an aim to conserve and protect the Aberdare Mountains. Since then it has grown to a size of an area of 767 km2

Aberdare National Park is best known as the site where in 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen after the death of her father King George VI, whilst staying at the Treetops Hotel. [2]

Wildlife

Wildlife present in the protected area include lion, leopard, elephant, East African wild dog, giant forest hog, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, waterbuck, Cape buffalo, suni, side-striped jackal, eland, duiker, olive baboon, black and white colobus monkey, and sykes monkey. Rarer sightings include those of the African golden cat and the bongo. Species such as the common eland, serval live in the higher moorlands. The Aberdare National Park also hosts a large eastern black rhinoceros population and over 250 bird species including the endangered Aberdare cisticola, Jackson's spurfowl, sparrowhawk, African goshawk, African fish eagle, sunbirds and plovers.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Cameroon</span> Active volcano in Cameroon near the Gulf of Guinea

Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako or by its indigenous name Mongo ma Ndemi. Mount Cameroon is ranked 22nd by topographic isolation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Kenya National Park</span> National park in Kenya

Mount Kenya National Park was established in 1949 to protect Mount Kenya, the wildlife, and the surrounding environment, which forms a habitat for wild animals, as well as acting as an area for the catchment of water, to supply Kenya's water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdare Range</span> Mountain range in Kenya

The Aberdare Range is a 160 km (99 mi) long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of 3,500 metres (11,480 ft). It straddles the counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu and Laikipia. The mountain range is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and lies just south of the Equator. The mountain range is called Nyandarua among the Agikuyu people in whose territory this forest and mountain range is located. The name Nyandarua comes from the Kikuyu word rwandarua meaning a drying hide, due to the distinctive fold of its silhouette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Highlands</span> Mountain range in northern Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 m (4,900 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 m (14,930 ft). It is sometimes called the "Roof of Africa" due to its height and large area. It is the only country in the region with such a high elevated surface. This elevated surface is bisected diagonally by the Great East African Rift System which extends from Syria to Mozambique across the East African Lakes. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion reaches into Eritrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwenzori Mountains National Park</span> National Park in Uganda

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost 1,000 km2 (386 sq mi) in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park is known for its beautiful plant life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Udzungwa Mountains</span> Mountain range in south-central Tanzania

The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse community of flora and fauna with large numbers of endemic species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertine Rift montane forests</span> Ecoregion in east-central Africa

The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Elgon National Park</span> National park in Uganda and Kenya

Mount Elgon National Park is a national park in Kenya and Uganda that lies 140 kilometres (87 mi) northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of 1,279 square kilometres (494 sq mi). The Ugandan part of the park covers 1,110 km2 (430 sq mi) while the Kenyan part covers 169 km2 (65 sq mi). The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1968, the Ugandan part in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Zimbabwe</span>

The wildlife of Zimbabwe occurs foremost in remote or rugged terrain, in national parks and private wildlife ranches, in miombo woodlands and thorny acacia or kopje. The prominent wild fauna includes African buffalo, African bush elephant, black rhinoceros, southern giraffe, African leopard, lion, plains zebra, and several antelope species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Uganda</span>

The wildlife of Uganda is composed of its flora and fauna. Uganda has a wide variety of different habitats, including mountains, hills, tropical rainforest, woodland, freshwater lakes, swamps and savanna with scattered clumps of trees. The country has a biodiverse flora and fauna reflecting this range of habitats and is known for its primates, including gorillas and chimpanzees. There are ten national parks and thirteen wildlife reserves; some 345 species of mammal and 1020 species of bird have been recorded in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in Uganda</span>

Conservation in Uganda is the protection and sustainable use of the country's rich natural resources. It became a significant movement during the British colonial period in the early 20th century and continues to play a major role in Uganda's political economy, as it underpins the tourism industry which accounts for 23.5% of the country's exports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Kenya</span>

The wildlife of Kenya refers to its fauna. The diversity of Kenya's wildlife has garnered international fame, especially for its populations of large mammals. Mammal species include lion, cheetah hippopotamus, African buffalo, wildebeest (Connochaetes), African bush elephant, zebra (Equus), giraffe (Giraffa), and rhinoceros. Kenya has a very diverse population of birds, including flamingo and common ostrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ol Doinyo Orok</span> Mountain in southern Kenya, East Africa

The Ol Donyo Orok mountain, also called Namanga Hills, is situated in southern Kenya next to the Tanzanian border in the Namanga Division. The mountain has a stretched triangular shape, almost like an arrow pointing north. The short side faces the Tanzanian border. The highest peak is 2,548 metres (8,360 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Tanzania</span>

Tanzania contains some 20 percent of the species of Africa's large mammal population, found across its reserves, conservation areas, marine parks, and 17 national parks, spread over an area of more than 42,000 square kilometres (16,000 sq mi) and forming approximately 38 percent of the country's territory. Wildlife resources of Tanzania are described as "without parallel in Africa" and "the prime game viewing country". Serengeti National Park, the country's second largest national park area at 14,763 square kilometres (5,700 sq mi), is located in northern Tanzania and is famous for its extensive migratory herds of wildebeests and zebra while also having the reputation as one of the great natural wonders of the world. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, established in 1959, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and inhabited by the Maasai people. Its Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African montane forests</span>

The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of South Sudan</span>

The geography of South Sudan describes the physical features of South Sudan, a country in East Africa. South Sudan is a landlocked country and borders – clockwise – Sudan from the north, Ethiopia from the east, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the south and the Central African Republic from the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African montane moorlands</span>

The East African montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion which occupies several high mountain peaks in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwenzori–Virunga montane moorlands</span> Montane ecoregion in central Africa

The Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the Rwenzori Mountains and Virunga Mountains in central Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cauca Valley montane forests</span> Ecoregion in western Colombia

The Cauca Valley montane forests (NT0109) is an ecoregion in western Colombia. It covers the sides of the Cauca Valley, which runs from south to north between the Central and Western Ranges (cordilleras) of the Colombian Andes. The ecoregion is home to very diverse fauna and flora, due in part to its varied elevations and climates, in part to its position near the isthmus of Panama, the route along which North American species invaded South America and then diversified as they moved to the upper parts of the Andes. Little of the original habitat remains at lower levels, but higher up there are sizeable blocks of forest, some of which are protected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests</span> Ecoregion in Southwestern China

The Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in Southwest China and northeastern Myanmar. The forests cover mountains and valleys in the western Hengduan Mountains and because of the extreme topography and relative remoteness, remain one of the best preserved habitats in China.

References

  1. Mwangi, P.N., Milewski, A. and Wahungu, G.M. (2004). Chemical composition of mineral licks used by elephants in Aberdares National Park, Kenya. Pachyderm 37: 59−67.
  2. Kenya News Agency (September 10, 2022). "Where British Queen lived before taking the throne".