The Empakaai Crater or Embagai (Kasoko la Empakai in Swahili, also Ela Nairobi) is a collapsed volcanic caldera located in Naiyobi ward of Ngorongoro District in Arusha Region of Tanzania. It is 300 meters high and 6 kilometers wide. The crater is filled by a deep alkaline lake (a soda lake[2]) that occupies around 75% of the crater's bottom and is approximately 85 meters deep. The crater is a caldera and is within UNESCO Biosphere Reserve protection program[3] Empakaai's elevation on the outside is 3,200 m above sea level on the western side and 2,590 m above sea level on the eastern side. Empakaai is nearly always blanketed in mist due to its high altitude, and the lake appears emerald or deep blue in color. The crater is part of the Crater Highlands geographic zone.[4]
| Empakaai Crater, Ela Nairobi[1] | |
|---|---|
| Kasoko la Empakai (Swahili) | |
 Empakaai crater from the eastern rim | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,250 m (10,660 ft) |
| Coordinates | 2°54′45.36″S 35°47′13.56″E / 2.9126000°S 35.7871000°E |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 6 km (3.7 mi) north-south |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Country |  Tanzania |
| Region | Arusha Region |
| District | Ngorongoro District |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Volcanic |
| Volcanic region | Crater Highlands |
| Last eruption | Pleistocene |
| Climbing | |
| Access | Ngorongoro Conservation Area |
The rim of the crater offers views of Oldoinyo Lengai, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Great Rift Valley. Hiking tourism is allowed down the crater.[5][6] The rim of the crater has two campsites. The foliage and birdlife in the Empakaai crater and the Olmoti crater are comparable, although the Empakaai crater is better for biodiversity. This area is home to the bearded vulture, the augur buzzard, blue monkeys, bushbuck, water bucks, and buffaloes. The crater is governed by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.[7]
References
edit- ^ Dawson, John Barry (2008). "Chapter 6. The Neogene–Recent volcanic rocks". The Gregory Rift Valley and Neogene – Recent Volcanoes of Northern Tanzania. Memoirs, 33. Vol. 33. Bath: Geological Society. doi:10.1144/M33. ISBN 978-1-86239-267-0. OCLC 1250635998. Page 42 is listing the mountain as "Elanairobi/Embagai (Empakai)"
- ^ Kempe, Stephan; Kazmierczak, Józef (January 2011). "Soda Lakes". In Joachim Reitner and Volker Thiel (ed.). Encyclopedia of Geobiology. pp. 824–829 (see p. 825). doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_192.
- ^ "Embagai Crater overview". volcano.si.edu. Global Volcanism Program, Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ "Official Empakaai Crater profile". ncaa.go.tz. Retrieved 2023-03-25. [dead link]
- ^ "Empakaai Crater Hike In Ngorongoro, Tanzania". journeyera.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ "Empakaai Crater attraction". lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ "Empakaai Crater". shadowsofafrica.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
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