Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest

Kenya
Date of Inscription: 1997
Criteria: (vii)(ix)
Property : 142020.0000 ha
Districts of Meru, Nyeri, Kirnyaga and Embu in Eastern and Central Provinces
N0 7 26 E37 20 12
Ref: 800

Brief Description

At 5,199 m, Mount Kenya is the second highest peak in Africa. It is an ancient extinct volcano, during whose period of activity (3.1–2.6 million years ago) it is thought to have risen to 6,500 m. There are 12 remnant glaciers on the mountain, all receding rapidly, and four secondary peaks that sit at the head of the U-shaped glacial valleys. With its rugged glacier-clad summits and forested middle slopes, Mount Kenya is one of the most impressive landscapes in East Africa. The evolution and ecology of its afro-alpine flora also provide an outstanding example of ecological processes.

Entrance to Mount Kenya | Steven Ripley © UNESCO More pictures ...

Justification for Inscription

The Committee inscribed this property under natural criteria (vii) and (ix) as one of the most impressive landscapes of Eastern Africa with its rugged glacier-clad summits, Afro-alpine moor lands and diverse forests, which illustrate outstanding ecological processes.

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