Longonot
Many pictures you see of RVA include a mountain in the background. This is actually a dormant volcano named Mt. Longonot. Here are some interesting facts of this “not-so-long” mountain. 🙂
Just below us in the Great Rift Valley lies Mount Longonot, a stratovolcano. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Over the years, many RVA students have enjoyed the adventure of a long hike up and around this mountain/volcano. 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. A forest of small trees covers the crater floor, and small steam vents are found spaced around the walls of the crater. Not only do people enjoy this mountain… a variety of wildlife do too, notably plains zebra, giraffe, Thomson’s gazelle, buffaloes and hartebeest. The whole hike (gate-around the rim-gate) of 13.5 km takes about 4–5 hours, with parts of the trail being heavily eroded and very steep. The highest point reaches 9,108 ft (a 630 meter vertical difference from the gate).
Some of you may remember that Kiambogo, RVA’s first school building, was built from the stone that was chiseled from Mt. Longonot. I love how Phil Dow put it, “Thus from the lava and ash of Africa’s womb came forth the cornerstone of the Rift Valley Academy.”
This sleeping giant is still benefiting RVA by helping to supply power. A geothermal power plant near Longonot taps into underground water and steam which has been super-heated by volcanic activity to produce electricity.
We had the opportunity to see Mt. Longonot close up – just this week! It was a good, long, and beautiful hike, accompanied by friends, as we trudged up the mountain and around the rim- in the hot hot sun!!
