Mawe Mbili and its attractions

Mawe Mbili and its attractions : Mawe Mbili is a volcanic rock formation located in the Soysambu Conservancy and on the northern edge of the Elmenteita Badlands in the Nakuru County of the Rift Valley Province of southern Kenya. In the northwest of Nairobi, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Lake Elmenteita, is where you’ll find the rock formation at the foot of Scout Hat Hill.

Mawe Mbili, which translates to “two stones” in Swahili, refers to two lava ash monoliths that emerge from a small patch of grassland in the lava badlands and are each around 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall. A volcanic lava flow from the Holocene epoch formed the Elmenteita Badlands. One of the stones has a chamber at the base that is large enough to sit in and was once used by herdsmen caring for animals in the region as a refuge during inclement weather.

On Mawe Mbili, the Sleeping Warrior Eco Lodge is prominently situated. There is a Japanese-style hot bathing facility close by, as well as a hot water well.

The route of the Safari rallies in 2007, 2008, and 2009 led from the border of the Elmenteita Badlands and Delamere Estates on Soysambu Ranch, around the back of Scout Hat Hill, and past a helicopter landing marker erected by the British forces in 1955 during the Mau Mau rebellion. This clearing was outside the preserve.

Elementaita Badlands

The Elementeita Badlands, which is often referred to as the Otutu Forest or Ututu Forest, are a lava flow in Kenya that spans across a space of around 36 square kilometres (9,000 acres). Previously, a dense dryland forest with Leleshwa bushes (Tarchonanthus camphoratus) and other types of cedar trees (Juniperus spp.) was present in the area. There are also Boophone and Wild Jasmine can be found.

Ol Donyo Eburru

The Ol Doinyo Eburru volcanic complex, which is active, is located northwest of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. Geothermal energy is being extracted from it. The Soysambu Conservancy is situated between Lake Elmenteita to the east and Lake Nakuru to the west, to the north of the massif.

Suswa, Longonot, Olkaria, Elmenteita, and Menengai are other volcanoes in the rift with Eburru. The Akira plains separate it from Olkaria volcano to the south. Trachytic tuffs, some of which are ignimbritic, and some trachytic lavas cover the eastern margin of the rift in this area. Along with deposits of ash falls thrown from Eburru, trachytic and pantelleritic pumice cover the western edge.

The Eburru massif rises from the rift floor by 980 metres (3,220 feet). It progressed through three phases. With the exception of a few minor pantelleritic lava outcrops, the western products of the first stage are now largely buried. On the eastern side of the mountain, the second stage created the 19.5 kilometres (12.1 mi) long Waterloo Ridge. These rocks are the result of several pyroclastic eruptions that began in a fault zone. The third stage produced lava flows, domes, tiny cones, and craters. There are more than fifty craters on the top, ranging in size from 200 metres (660 feet) to 1.25 kilometres (4,100 feet) in diameter. The majority of the massif and the western shoulder of the rift are covered in pumice lapilli and ash deposits from these centres.

The Eburru massif is currently ridge-shaped and eroded, with an east-west orientation. The volcanic complex has an area of 470 square kilometres (180 sq mi). There are two summits, Eburru hill and West hill. There are young craters on the eastern part of the ridge. The east flank has rhyolitic domes that were likely formed in the Holocene and are still only partially overgrown with vegetation. There are wide valleys on the west flank.

The Eburru massif has an east-west orientation and is currently ridge-shaped and eroded. The volcanic complex is 470 square kilometres (180 square miles) in size. West hill and Eburru hill are the two summits. On the eastern side of the ridge, there are some recent craters. Rhyolitic domes on the east flank, which are still only partially covered in vegetation, were likely formed during the Holocene. In cinder cones and craters along the massif’s fault lines, fumaroles are abundant.

Olkaria

In Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, directly south of Lake Naivasha, is a region known as the Olkaria Area. It is utilised to provide clean electric power and is geothermally active. An estimated 2,000 MW of potential exists in the area. The maximum daily electrical peak demand for the entire nation was almost twice as high in 2008–2009.

Within Hell’s Gate National Park are the geothermal complex and power plants. Nairobi is located roughly 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the Olkaria volcanic region. It is located west of Mount Longonot, a stratovolcano, east of the western boundary of the rift valley, and south of the Ol Doinyo Eburru complex and north of Mount Suswa.240 square kilometres (93 square miles) total make up the volcanic field.

Olkaria Hill, which is 340 metres (1,120 feet) high and 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) broad, is the greatest structure. During a time in the past when lake levels were much higher than they are now, water rushing out of Lake Naivasha created a narrow valley that traverses the complex and has cliffs up to 200 metres (660 feet) high.

Olkaria’s surface is dominated by a lava field and peralkaline rhyolite dome. The complex is home to a large number of small-scale volcanic activity centres. There are at least eighty of these hotspots, most of which are steep-sided lava and pyroclastic domes or thick lava flows.

At Olkaria, rock extracted from a drill 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) deep dates back to 450,000 years. However, the surface characteristics are only 20,000 years old [The Ol Njorowa pantellerite deposit with pyroclastic rocks, lava flows, and plugs is the earliest exposed sequence.

Olkaria is located in the Naivasha sub-basin, which is famous for its fumaroles, hot springs, and hot grounds. The steam jets and geysers of Lake Bogoria, which is located further north, reach temperatures of up to 96 °C (205 °F). In Olkaria, the Njorowa Gorge has steam fumaroles. At the nearby Eburru and Olkaria locations of the subsurface reservoirs, temperatures of 280 °C (536 °F) and 340 °C (644 °F), respectively, have been recorded. The geothermal producing zones of Olkaria are located between 750 and 1,000 metres (2,460 to 3,300 feet) below the surface, and even deeper, between 1,100 and 1,300 metres (3,600 to 4,300 feet).

Olkaria’s initial geothermal investigation began in 1955. By 1959, two test wells had been dug but were not successful. There wasn’t much more done until 1967, when 27 shallow wells that could reach a depth of 61 metres (200 feet) were sunk; some of these wells produced steam. The United Nations Development Programme and the Kenya Power Company started making systematic attempts to investigate and subsequently utilise the geothermal potential in 1970. KenGen is currently known as the Kenya Electricity Generating Company, or KenGen. Production wells were dug, and in July 1981, commercial energy production began at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plant with a 15 MW turbo-generator.

A third station, Olkaria II, with a production capacity of 105 MW and 5.2 MW utilised to power the station itself, was erected in response to increasing electricity demands. Three Mitsubishi turbines, each producing 35 MW, power it. 22 wells that each produce an estimated 35 tonnes of steam per hour are where the steam is obtained.

Olkaria I (45 MW) and Olkaria II (70 MW) were owned by KenGen as of 2005.A division of Ormat Technologies privately owns Olkaria III, a third power plant with a 48 MW capacity. A surface discharge is prevented by the use of air-cooled converters at the Olkaria III facility. Of all the power produced in Kenya, this new technique has the least negative environmental effects.