The Mountain...

Mount Elgon is a volcano but has not erupted for a very long time (three million years or so) and is regarded as extinct. It's a solitary mountain with gentle and long slopes, intercepted by steep cliffs and rivers.

Its caldera happens to be one of the biggest in the world stretching for almost eight kilometers.

As one might expect, most of the peaks are on the rim of the caldera. Wagagai is the highest spot at 4321 meters and lies within Uganda.

 The National Parks...

The Uganda-Kenya border runs across the mountain (check it out) and both countries have created a national park with a view to conservation. 

  National Park - in Uganda

  National Park - in Kenya

 Feed Your Mind...

In 1996, 11 students from the U.K. and Uganda carried out a study on the impact of humans on the biodiversity and ecology of Mount Elgon. Their project website contains great information about the mountain, its flora, fauna and much more. Read about it at Project Elgon .

For the history buffs: so, how did the Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda come about?

1929:	The Forest Department assumes control over the forest of Mount Elgon.
1936 - 37:	The boundary of the park was completely surveyed and demarcated.
1940:	Gazetted as Mount Elgon Crown Forest.
1951:	Re-gazzetted as Mount Elgon Central Forest Reserve.
1968:	Around this time, most of the present day boundaries were established after periods of boundary disputes and excisions to allow families living in the forest to remain.
1972 - 86:	The civil unrest in Uganda interferes with the management of the reserve.
1988:	Government issues a Forestry Policy emphasising effective management of forests for both economic and environmental reasons.
1994:	Management of reserve is transferred to Uganda National Parks (UNP).
1996:	UNP is renamed to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) after merging with the Game Department.

 Source: From Conflict to Collaboration By Penny Scott

So, there you have it. And today, UWA's mission "is to conserve and sustainably manage the wildlife and Protected Areas of Uganda in partnership with neighbouring communities and stakeholders for the benefit of the people of Uganda and the global community."  More...