Exploring Mount Kilimanjaro

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

This stunning mountain, covered with a snow cap like gray, is located in Northern Tanzania. Translated from the Swahili language, the name Kilimanjaro means "Glittering Mountain" - very appropriate for this majestic mountain.

This is the highest point in Africa - its height is 5899 meters, so it is clearly visible for many kilometers. Its sloping slopes rise to a flat and elongated peak, which is the giant crater of this mighty volcano.

Kilimanjaro Volcano is ninety-seven kilometers long and sixty-four kilometers wide. This mountain is so big that it can form its own climate. A warm and humid wind from the Indian Ocean, colliding with this huge barrier, releases the moisture it has brought in in the form of snow or rain.

Coffee and corn are grown at the base and on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro. Above, up to about three thousand meters, the mountain slopes are covered with dense tropical forests. Tourists from all over the world come to Africa to see the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro.

Climbing the mountain can be done up to the Shira plateau, located at an altitude of 4000 kilometers, atSUV. Hiking ascents are made from the territory of Tanzania or Kenya. They take four to six days. You will be able to climb up to the equatorial glaciers and see the stunning panorama of Africa. Kilimanjaro is the highest volcano in Africa.

The snow and hanging glaciers that shelter Mount Kilimanjaro are considered one of the wonders of the world. After all, it is very close to the equator. But due to global warming, the snow cap crowning Mount Kilimanjaro is rapidly melting.

If you dream of seeing a glacier in the center of Africa, then you should hurry: according to researchers, in 15-20 years there will be no snow left on the mountain at all. This process did not start today. A decrease in the ice layer was noted throughout the last century, starting from 1912. During this time, the volcano has lost more than 80% of the ice layer.

The media started talking about it only in the 90s. An amazing African mountain, once covered with a layer of snow 100 meters thick, Kilimanjaro turns into a stone wasteland. Stunning ice terraces remained only on the southern slopes of the mountain, at an altitude of more than 4000 meters.

Many tourists are attracted by the opportunity to visit the Kilimanjaro National Park, located near the small towns of Moshi and Akshi. Naturally, the main attraction of the park is the still dormant Kilimanjaro volcano, which is part of a seismically hazardous zone. This snowy peak was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.

Specialnoteworthy are the lakes formed by the waters flowing down the mountain, formed as a result of melting snow. These are Lake Chapa, located in a small ancient crater, and Lake Gip, located on the border between Kenya and Tanzania. It is 16 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide.

There is a hunting reserve in the east of the park. There are antelopes, giraffes, zebras, elephants, many snakes and various birds.