The Lake Elmenteita area saw its first white settlement when Lord Delamere (1879-1931) established Soysambu, a 190-square-kilometre (48,000-acre) ranch, on the western side of the lake. Delamere gifted the land on the other side of the lake to his brother-in-law, the Honorable Galbraith Lowry Egerton Cole (1881-1929), part of whose "Kekopey Ranch", where he is buried, is preserved today as the Lake Elementaita Lodge.

Soysambu ranch is still occupied by Lord Delamere's descendants, including the controversial[why?] Thomas Cholmondeley who has been instrumental in setting up the Soysambu conservancy. The conservancy covers 2/3 of the shoreline and is home to over 12000 wild animals.

Lake Elmenteita has been a Ramsar site since 2005.[1]