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. Humphrey Slade, of Pt Slade, explored the moorland areas of the mountain in the 1930s, and possibly made the first ascent of Sendeyo.
The remaining names are after well-known Kenyan personalities, with the exception of John and Peter, which were named by the missionary Arthur after two disciples. Pigott was the Acting Administrator of Imperial British East Africa at the time of Gregory's expedition, and there is a group of four peaks to the east of the main peaks named after governors of Kenya and early settlers; Coryndon, Grigg, Delamere and McMillan.
The majority of the names were given by Melhuish and Dutton, with the exception of the Maasai names and Peter and John. Interestingly 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 named | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batian | Named after Mbatian, the chief medicine man (Laibon) of Maasai when Europeans first discovered Maasailand. | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Nelion | Named after Nelieng, the brother of Mbatian | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Pt Lenana | Named 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. | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Coryndon Peak | Named after Sir Robert Coryndon, the Governor of Kenya Colony between 1922 and 1925. | |||
| Pt Piggott | Named after J. R. W. Piggott, the administrator of British East Africa in 1893. He assisted Gregory's expedition to Mount Kenya. | Gregory | by 1900 | |
| Pt Thomson | Named after Joseph Thomson, who, in 1863, confirmed Krapf's claim of the existence of Mount Kenya. | Mackinder | by 1900 | |
| Pt Dutton | E. A. T Dutton explored the mountain. | |||
| Pt John | Named by a Scottish missionary after the disciple. | Arthur | ||
| Pt Melhuish | Named after J. D. Melhuish, who was responsible for most of the first maps and photographs of the mountain. | Arthur | ||
| Krapf Rognon | Named after Dr Krapf, who was the first European to see the mountain in 1849. | Mackinder | ||
| Pt Peter | Named by a Scottish missionary after the disciple. | Arthur | ||
| Pt Slade | Named after Humphrey Slade who explored the moorland zone of Mount Kenya. He possibly also made the first ascent of Sendeyo. | |||
| Terere | Named after Terere, a Maasai laibon. | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Sendeyo | Named after Sendeyo, the eldest son of Mbatian and brother of Lenana. | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Midget Peak | ||||
| The Hat | ||||
| Delamere Peak | Named after Rt. Hon. Lord Delamere, who was one of the early explorers of East Africa. He arrived in Kenya Colony in 1897. | Melhuish and Dutton | ||
| Macmillan Peak | Named after Sir Northrup Macmillan, an early pioneer. | Melhuish and Dutton | ||
| Grigg Peak | Named after Lieut-Col. Sit Edward Grigg, who was the Governor of Kenya Colony from 1925. | Arthur | ||
| Höhnel 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. | Gregory | by 1894 | |
| Arthur's Seat | Named after Rev. J. W. Arthur, who made several attempts to reach the summit. | Melhuish | ||
| Sommerfelt Peak | Named after G. A. Sommerfelt, who climbed Batian with Shipton and Harris on 8 January 1929. | Dutton | ||
| Three Sisters | Named for their appearance. "Three slim columns of rock separated from each other by the merest cracks." | Melhuish and Dutton | ||
| The Tooth | Named for its appearance. | Melhuish and Dutton | ||
| The Castle (Höhnel Peak) | ||||
| Gate of Mists | Named for its physical appearance, and because "Kenya" is a corruption of the Maasai word for "mist". | Mackinder | 1899 | |
| Shipton Peak | Named after E. E. Shipton, who made the first ascent of Nelion and second ascent of Batian in 1929. | Dutton | ||
| Grand and Petit Gendarmes | Named for their physical appearance. | Shipton and Tilman | 1930 | |
| Tilman Peak | Named after Tilman, who made many climbs with Shipton in 1930. | |||
| Pt John Minor | ||||
| Thomson's Flake | ||||
| Western Terminal | ||||
| Eastern Terminal | ||||
| Kibatia | ||||
| Rutundu | ||||
| Giants Billiards Table (also known as Kilingo) | Visually the mountain is very flat topped. | Name mentioned on Mackinder's 1900 map | by 1900 | |
| Kilingo (also known as Giants Billiards Table) | ||||
| Mugi Hill | by 1926 | |||
| The Barrow | ||||
| Ithanguni | ||||
| East Mountain (later renamed Ithanguni) | Mackinder | 1899 | ||
| Highland Castle | ||||
| Biruoini | ||||
| The Twins | Photographed (and potentially named) by Melhuish. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Names On Mount Kenya
Famous quotes containing the word peaks:
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—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
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—David Lloyd George (1863–1945)
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—John Cournos (1881–1956)