The Aberdare ranges
The Aberdare Range (formerly, the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: Nyandarua) is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of 3,500 metres (11,480 ft). It is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and just south of the Equator. It forms a section of the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley running from the Kinangop Plateau, to the Laikipia Escarpment, roughly north to south. On the west, the range falls off steeply into the Great Rift Valley and views of Lake Naivasha and the distant Mau Escarpment can be seen.
The Aberdare Range has a maximum elevation of 3,994 metres (13,104 ft) above sea level and is heavily-forested. Much of the range has been protected within the Aberdare National Park since its creation in 1950. The range attracts large numbers of hikers and climbers operating out of the main centers of Naivasha and Gilgil. The lower slopes are farmed, higher areas are known for their wildlife. The Rhino Charge is an annual event run by conservationists in Kenya to pay for fencing of the Aberdare National Park as a means of protecting East Africa's largest indigenous forest from destruction.
The former name of the range survives in Mount Satima ("the mountain of the young bull"); it is the highest peak in the Aberdare Range. Mount Kenya, 5,199 metres (17,057 ft) the second highest mountain in Africa (after Kilimanjaro) lies east of the Aberdare Range.
The area is well known as the headquarters of Dedan Kimathi, leader of the 1950s Mau Mau Uprising. Also, Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom while vacationing in the Aberdares. It was also the site where J.A. Hunter killed the Rogue elephant of Aberdare Forest.
