Crater hike at Lake Elementaita

06.01.2015

After our walk at Lake Elementaita this morning, Dennis and I climb the crater near our camp.

Schalow's Wheatear
Oenanthe lugubris schalowi






Tropical Boubou
Laniarius aethiopicus
Tropenwürger



We reach the crater and have a nice view inside.



That's the perfect place for a picnic break.



View back to where we came from



Dennis and me












It's going up!



"Wow, it's windy!"



Climbing further up ...






And then we have a nice view into the crater.






Augur Buzzard
Buteo augur
Augurbussard






The crater and Lake Elementaita

The Lake Elementaita lies inside the Rift Valley. This valley arose where the African Plate is splitting into two new separate plates. For this reason, a relatively high movement is going on in the ground of the Rift Valley and formed many lakes and craters.

Green Bush Grasshopper
Phymateus viridipes

Lake Elementaita is a soda lake in the Great Rift Valley, about 120 km northwest of Nairobi. The word "Elmentaita" is derived from the Masaai word muteita and means "dust place", because of the dryness and dustyness of the area.

Tomorrow we visit the Menengai Crater.

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