xvni THE CRATERS OF THE RIFT VAf.LEY 233 



exposed surface of the rijck in this cleft pi'eseiits an 

 arrangement of basaltic columns ri'sembling that of 

 Fingal's cave. The recess is a favourite res(.)rt and 

 Ijreeding place of vultures. 



Concerning Suswa I can give no infjrmation. 1 had 

 no opportunity of climbing it and have not met anyone 

 who had ; l)ut whilst at Nakuru 1 took the opportunity 

 of visiting the extinct crater of Menengai. The ascent 

 would l)e a pleasant ride were it not for the tall coarse 

 grass which covers its sides and makes the journey 

 troulilesome for men and mules. The exterior of this 

 cone, like Longonot, presents a series of platform-like 

 terraces with fairly steep slopes between the platforms. 

 The edge of the crater on the side near Nakuru is well- 

 marked ; the inner side is a steep, grass-covered slope 

 several hundred feet long, which ends abruptly at an 

 almost perpendicular wall extending to the floor of the 

 crater more than L'OO feet lielow. The southern and 

 western portions of the crater-rim are complete, but the 

 northern and eastern portions are wanting : the tloor of 

 the crater, occupied by a thick forest, slopes away to the 

 floor of the valley. There is sufficient of the crater wall 

 left to furnish a loud echo. It is rep<jrted that a steam- 

 vent exists in the crater and that it is visited and 

 venerated by the Masai, but we failed to find it. 



The gi'ass on the outer slopes near the summit, as 

 well as on the inner face of tlie crater, was traversed by 

 game tracks. The crater itself is visited by elephants, 

 zeliras, antelopes, and lions. A herd of eland occasion- 

 ally graze in it, and we obtained an example of Chanler's 

 reedbuck in the crater itself : after the animal was shot 

 the " boys" showed great trepidation about descending 

 into the crater for fear of lions. Tliis, however, did not 

 prevent us enjoying the extraordinary spectacle pre- 

 sented by the valley when seen from a height, especially 

 the peculiar purple light which tinges the edges of the 

 escarpments when the sun shines on them. A similar 

 purple tint hangs about the mountains surrounding the 



