Mount Kenya National Park

Mount Kenya National Park (), established in 1949, protects the region surrounding Mount Kenya. Initially is was a forest reserve before being announced as a national park. Currently the national park is within the forest reserve which encircles it. In April 1978 the area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The national park and the forest reserve, combined, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The Government of Kenya had four reasons for creating a national park on and around Mount Kenya. These were the importance of tourism for the local and national economies, to preserve an area of great scenic beauty, to conserve the biodiversity within the park, and to preserve the water catchment for the surrounding area.

The national park has an area of , most of which is above the contour line. The forest reserve has an area of . Combined this makes the area of the UNESCO World Heritage Site .

A small portion of this park's borders near heavy populations have electrified fences to keep the elephants out of the surrounding farmland. Volcanic sediment in the surrounding region's soil and the huge volume of fresh water coming down the slopes makes the area particularly favourable for agriculture.

At lower altitudes Colobus and other monkeys and Cape Buffalo are prevalent. Some larger mammals such as elephants range up to .

References

el:Εθνικό Πάρκο Όρους Κένυα es:Parque Nacional del Monte Kenia fr:Parc national du mont Kenya hi:माउंट किनीया राष्ट्रीय उद्यान it:Parco nazionale del Monte Kenya ja:ケニア山国立公園 no:Mount Kenya nasjonalpark pt:Parque Nacional e Floresta Natural do Monte Quénia ro:Parcul Naţional Muntele Kenya ru:Гора Кения (национальный парк) fi:Mount Kenyan kansallispuisto

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