Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya,[5] north of Kisumu and west of Kitale.

[1][6] Although there is no verifiable evidence of its earliest volcanic activity, geologists estimate that Mount Elgon is at least 24 million years old, making it the oldest known extinct volcano in East Africa.

Its cooler heights offer respite for humans from the hot plains below, and its higher altitudes provide a refuge for flora and fauna.

The possibly extinct Du Toit's torrent frog (Arthroleptides dutoiti), considered an EDGE species due to its evolutionary distinctiveness, is known only from a single specimen collected on the Kenyan side of the mountain.

[17] Mount Elgon and its tributaries are home to five tribes: the Bagisu, the Mbay, Sor, Sapiiny, Koony, Someek, Pook, and the Ogiek, better known in the region under the derogatory umbrella term Ndorobo.