Aberdare Range
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The Aberdare Range (formerly, the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: Nyandarua) is a 160 km long range of uplands in west central Kenya, north of the capital Nairobi, that forms a section of the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley as it runs from the Kinangop Plateau, to the Laikipia Escarpment roughly north-south.
The Aberdare Range has an average elevation of 12,000 - 13,000 feet above sea level and is heavily-forested. Much of the range has been protected within the Aberdare National Park since its creation in 1950. The range attracts large numbers of hikers and climbers, operating out of the main centers of Naivasha and Gilgil.
The lower slopes are farmed, while higher areas are known for their wildlife. The Rhino Charge is an annual event run by conservationists in Kenya to pay for fencing off the Aberdare National Park as a means of protecting East Africa's largest indigenous forest from destruction.
The former name of the range survives still in Oldoinyo la Satima ("the mountain of the young bull"); at 4,001 meters (13,120 feet), it is the highest peak in the Aberdare Range. Mount Kenya (5,199 m, 17,057 ft), the second highest mountain in Africa (after Kilimanjaro), lies several kilometres east of the Aberdare Range.
