Mount Kenya () is the second highest mountain in Africa and the highest mountain in Kenya, after which the country is named. It lies just south of the equator and currently has eleven small glaciers. Various expeditions reached it in the following years. It was first climbed in 1899 by Halford Mackinder. The mountain became a national park in 1949, played a key role in the Mau Mau events in the 1950s, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It is climbed and walked up by up to 15,000 tourists every year.

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya serves as a historic ethnolinguistic crossroads, with its modern name deriving from the Akamba word Kĩĩ-Nyaa ("Mountain of the Ostrich"). In 1849, German missionaries Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann recorded this name while being guided by Akamba traders, a designation that was later adopted for the Republic of Kenya. While linguistic variations among the Gĩkũyũ (Kĩrĩnyaga), Embu (Kinyaga) and Maasai (Ol Donyo Keri) all describe the mountain's "speckled" or "black and white" appearance, Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai noted an alternative oral tradition suggesting the name arose from a linguistic misunderstanding regarding a guide's gourd. The region's history also includes the Ogiek (or Okiek), an ancient Southern Nilotic hunter-gatherer community and the earliest known inhabitants of the highland forests. Though they maintain a distinct indigenous identity and have secured legal recognition of their ancestral land rights, the Ogiek today are linguistically and administratively classified as a subgroup of the broader Kalenjin ethnic group. Krapf was staying in a Wakamba village when he first saw the mountain. Krapf, however, recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia. According to some sources, this is a corruption of the Wakamba Kiinyaa. Others however say that this was on the contrary a very precise notation of a native word pronounced . Nevertheless, the name was usually pronounced in English.

At the time, this referred to the mountain without having to include mountain in the name. The current name Mount Kenya was used by some as early as 1894, but this was not a regular occurrence until 1920 when Kenya Colony was established. Before 1920 the area now known as Kenya was known as the British East Africa Protectorate and so there was no need to mention mount when referring to the mountain. Mount Kenya was not the only English name for the mountain as shown in Dutton's 1929 book Kenya Mountain. By the 1930s Kenya was becoming the dominant spelling, but Kenia was occasionally used. At this time both were still pronounced in English. It is important, here, to note that the translation of the name KII-NYAA (akamba) was done by the english who do not have the equivalent pronunciation of "nya". NYA is pronounced as in lasaGNA, the italian delicacy. Then the same Akamba name was subjected to German pronunciation briefly and it turned out to Kenia. Eventually a kind of compromise resolved the name to Kenya which can be written in italian as keGNA.

Kenya achieved independence in 1963, and Jomo Kenyatta was elected as the first president. He had previously assumed this name to reflect his commitment to freeing his country and his pronunciation of his name resulted in the pronunciation of Kenya in English changing back to an approximation of the original native pronunciation, the current . So the country was named after the colony, which in turn was named after the mountain as it is a very significant landmark. To distinguish easily between the country and the mountain, the mountain became known as Mount Kenya with the current pronunciation . Mount Kenya is featured on the coat of arms of Kenya.

Peaks

The peaks of Mount Kenya have been given names from three different sources. Firstly, several Maasai chieftains have been commemorated, with names such as Batian, Nelion and Lenana. These names were suggested by Mackinder, on the suggestion of Sidney Langford Hinde, who was the resident officer in Maasailand at the time of Mackinder's expedition. They commemorate Mbatian, a Maasai Laibon (Medicine Man), Nelieng, his brother, and Lenana and Sendeyo, his sons. Terere is named after another Maasai headman.

The second type of names that were given to peaks are after climbers and explorers. Some examples of this are Shipton, Sommerfelt, Tilman, Dutton and Arthur. Shipton made the first ascent of Nelion, and Sommerfelt accompanied Shipton on the second ascent. Tilman made many first ascents of peaks with Shipton in 1930. Dutton and Arthur explored the mountain between 1910 and 1930. Arthur Firmin, who made many first ascents, has been remembered in Firmin's Col and also the Firmin Tower on the North Face Standard, or Firmin-Hicks route. Humphrey Slade, of Pt Slade, explored the moorland areas of the mountain in the 1930s, and possibly made the first ascent of Sendeyo.

While the primary summits bear indigenous names, many of the secondary peaks and glaciers were named after figures prominent during the British colonial period. Points John and Peter are notable exceptions, as they were named by the missionary Arthur William McGregor in reference to the biblical apostles. Point Pigott honors the Acting Administrator of the Imperial British East Africa Company during the 1893 J.W. Gregory expedition. Furthermore, a prominent group of four peaks to the east of the main summits is dedicated to early European settlers and colonial governors of the Kenya Colony, specifically Sir Robert Coryndon, Sir Edward Grigg, the influential settler Lord Delamere, and the philanthropist and explorer William Northrup McMillan.

The majority of the names were given by Melhuish and Dutton, with the exception of the Maasai names and Peter and John. Pt Thomson is not named after Joseph Thomson, who confirmed the mountain's existence, but after another J Thomson who was an official Royal Geographical Society photographer.

Name Reason for naming Named by Date namedBatianNamed after Mbatian, the chief medicine man (Laibon) of Maasai when Europeans first discovered Maasailand.Mackinder1899 NelionNamed after Nelieng, the brother of MbatianMackinder1899Pt LenanaNamed after Lenana, the second son of Mbatian and next chief medicine man. Lenana was the medicine man at the time of first ascent of Batian.Mackinder1899Coryndon PeakNamed after Sir Robert Coryndon, the Governor of Kenya Colony between 1922 and 1925.Pt PiggottNamed after J. R. W. Piggott, the administrator of British East Africa in 1893. He assisted Gregory's expedition to Mount Kenya.Gregoryby 1900Pt ThomsonNamed after Joseph Thomson, who, in 1863, confirmed Krapf's claim of the existence of Mount Kenya.Mackinderby 1900Pt DuttonE. A. T Dutton explored the mountain.Pt JohnNamed by a Scottish missionary after the disciple.ArthurPt MelhuishNamed after J. D. Melhuish, who was responsible for most of the first maps and photographs of the mountain.ArthurKrapf RognonNamed after Dr Krapf, who was the first European to see the mountain in 1849.MackinderPt PeterNamed by a Scottish missionary after the disciple.ArthurPt SladeNamed after Humphrey Slade, who explored the moorland zone of Mount Kenya. He possibly also made the first ascent of Sendeyo.TerereNamed after Terere, a Maasai laibon.Mackinder1899SendeyoNamed after Sendeyo, the eldest son of Mbatian and brother of Lenana.Mackinder1899Midget PeakNamed after Madge Anderson, friend of Eric Shipton in Kenya, resp. her nickname "Midget"Eric Shipton1930The HatDelamere PeakNamed after Rt. Hon. Lord Delamere, who was one of the early explorers of East Africa. He arrived in Kenya Colony in 1897.Melhuish and DuttonMacmillan PeakNamed after Sir Northrup Macmillan, an early pioneer.Melhuish and DuttonGrigg PeakNamed after Lieut-Col. Sit Edward Grigg, who was the Governor of Kenya Colony from 1925.ArthurHöhnel Peak (The Castle)Named after Lieut. Ludwig von Höhnel, who was the cartographer on Teleki's expedition to the mountain. When he drew the mountain from the Ndoro, to the south, he clearly marked this peak, so Gregory named it after him.Gregoryby 1894Arthur's SeatNamed after Rev. J. W. Arthur, who made several attempts to reach the summit.MelhuishSommerfelt PeakNamed after G. A. Sommerfelt, who climbed Batian with Shipton and Harris on 8 January 1929.DuttonThree SistersNamed for their appearance. "Three slim columns of rock separated from each other by the merest cracks."Melhuish and DuttonThe ToothNamed for its appearance.Melhuish and DuttonThe Castle (Höhnel Peak)Gate of MistsNamed for its physical appearance, and because "Kenya" is a corruption of the Maasai word for "mist".Mackinder1899Shipton PeakNamed after E. E. Shipton, who made the first ascent of Nelion and second ascent of Batian in 1929.DuttonGrand and Petit GendarmesNamed for their physical appearance.Shipton and Tilman1930Tilman PeakNamed after Tilman, who made many climbs with Shipton in 1930.Pt John MinorThomson's FlakeWestern TerminalEastern TerminalKibatiaRutunduGiants Billiards Table (also known as Kilingo)Visually the mountain is very flat topped.Name mentioned on Mackinder's 1900 mapby 1900Kilingo (also known as Giants Billiards Table)Mugi Hillby 1926The BarrowIthanguniEast Mountain (later renamed Ithanguni)Mackinder1899Highland CastleBiruoiniThe TwinsPhotographed (and potentially named) by Melhuish.

Valleys Name Reason for naming Named by Date namedCarr ValleyNamed after Ernest Carr, who discovered the Carr Lakes and erected two huts on the mountain. He built a road up the east side of the mountain from Chogoria, and was the founder of the Mountain Club of East Africa.Melhuish and DuttonGorges ValleyNamed after Brig-General Edmund Howard Gorges, who reinforced Mackinder's expedition in 1899.Mackinderby 1900Hausberg ValleyNamed after C. B. Hausberg, who attained the summit of Batian with Mackinder, and was the photographer of the expedition.Mackinderby 1900Hinde ValleyNamed after Sidney Langford Hinde, who assisted Mackinder's expedition.Mackinderby 1900Hobley ValleyNamed after C. W. Hobley, who made an expedition to the mountain with Dundas in 1891 where they traversed the forest zone. The expedition probably would have reached this valley, had they penetrated the forest.Gregoryby 1900Höhnel ValleyNamed after Lieut. Ludwig von Höhnel, who was the cartographer on Teleki's expedition to the mountain.Gregoryby 1894Teleki ValleyNamed after Count Samuel Teleki, who led the first expedition to penetrate the forest zone of Mount Kenya in 1887. The expedition entered this valley.Gregoryby 1894Mackinder ValleyNamed after Mackinder, who made the first ascent of Batian in 1899.by 1900Guaso Mairi ValleyThis valley was named after the river that originates here.Gregory

Lakes