Matthews Range
Encyclopedia
The Matthews Range, also known as the Lenkiyio Hills, is a range of mountain
s about 150 km long, oriented north-south, in the Laikipia district
of the Rift Valley Province in northern Kenya
. The town of Wamba
is located at the southeastern edge of the range.
The highest point is Warges, at 2688 m above sea level
, at the southern end of the range, separated by a valley from the rest of the range. The 2375 metres high Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo mountain is the highest peak of the middle of the range. There is also a breast shaped hill
locally known as Sweet Sixteen in the range.
and cycad
s. It is home to elephant
s and other large mammal
s, and was one of the last places in northern Kenya to have wild Black Rhinos. The last Black Rhino in the Mathew's was poached out in the 1990s. The Mathew's are also home to the Samburu
people. The mountain range
is a sky island
: surrounded by plains, with Ndoto Mountains to the north and the Karisia hills to the west. A number of the species in the Mathew's have evolved independently and the diversity of the forest is of great conservation value. Part has been designated as a wildlife sanctuary.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s about 150 km long, oriented north-south, in the Laikipia district
Laikipia District Kenya
Laikipia District is one of the seventy-one districts of Kenya, located on the Equator in the Rift Valley Province of the country. The district has two major urban centres: Nanyuki to the southeast, and Nyahururu to the southwest...
of the Rift Valley Province in northern Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. The town of Wamba
Wamba, Kenya
Wamba is a small town in Samburu District, Rift Valley Province in central Kenya. It is located south-southwest edge of the Mathews Range, and northwest of the Samburu National Reserve...
is located at the southeastern edge of the range.
The highest point is Warges, at 2688 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, at the southern end of the range, separated by a valley from the rest of the range. The 2375 metres high Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo mountain is the highest peak of the middle of the range. There is also a breast shaped hill
Breast shaped hill
A breast-shaped hill is a mountain in the shape of a human breast. Such anthropomorphic geographic features are to be found in different places of the world and in some cultures they were revered as the attributes of the Mother Goddess, like the Paps of Anu, named after Anu, an important goddess of...
locally known as Sweet Sixteen in the range.
Ecology
The area is isolated, and holds forests of juniperJuniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
and cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s. It is home to elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s and other large mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, and was one of the last places in northern Kenya to have wild Black Rhinos. The last Black Rhino in the Mathew's was poached out in the 1990s. The Mathew's are also home to the Samburu
Samburu
The Samburu are a Nilotic people of north-central Kenya that are related to but distinct from the Maasai. The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but also keep sheep, goats and camels. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of...
people. The mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
is a sky island
Sky island
Sky islands are mountains that are isolated by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment, a situation which, in combination with the altitudinal zonation of ecosystems, has significant implications for natural habitats. Endemism, vertical migration, and relict populations are...
: surrounded by plains, with Ndoto Mountains to the north and the Karisia hills to the west. A number of the species in the Mathew's have evolved independently and the diversity of the forest is of great conservation value. Part has been designated as a wildlife sanctuary.