Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 meters / 19,341 ft above the sea level. It has three volcanic cones - Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira and is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzaina. Mount Kilimanjaro is at the same time the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in the entire world, rishing an impressive 5,882 meters / 19,298 ft from the base.
The etymology of the word "Kilimanjaro" is uncertain. Many consider it as a combination of the Swahili word "Kilima" (mountain) and the Kichagga word "Njaro"(whiteness), thus giving the name White Mountain. Other people think it is a result of the word "Njaro" in Chagga/Kichagga" (our) and from this it results - Kilimanjaro = our mountain. This is from the Chagga people that in the past used to live at the base of the mountain. The name "Kibo" in Kichagga means "spotted" and refers to rocks observed on the snowfields. The Swahili word"Uhuru" means "freedom", a name attributed in order to celebrate the Tanzanian independence from Great Britain gained in 1961.
Moving on to geology, it is the fourth highest mountain of the Seven Summits. The Uhuru Peak rises to an incredible altitude of 5,895m AMSL (Above Main Sea Level). The mountain is composed out of three different volcanic cones, as follows: Kibo - 5,895 m / 19,341 ft; Mawenzi - 5,149 m / 16,893 ft and Shira - 3,962 m / 13,000 ft. The Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on the Kibo crater rim. Although it is dormant, the mountain has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater on the main summit of Kibo. Experts in geology and scientists have concluded in 2003 a study from which it resulted that motel magma is just 400m / 1,310 ft below the summit crater. Many collapses and landslides took place on Kibo in the past century, one of them creating the area known as the Western Breach.
Due to the reason that it is a sky island, Kilimanjaro has unique vegetation like water holding cabbage in tussock grassland as well as other plants like this all adapted to living in alpine conditions. Kilimanjaro is known to have a wide variety of forest types over an altitudinal range of 3,000 m / 9,843 ft which contain more than 1,200 vascular plant species. The Montane Ocotea forests occur on the wet southern slope. The Subalpine Erica forests at 4,100 m / 13,451 ft represent the highest elevation cloud forests in all Africa.
However, the degree of endemism is low despite the immense biodiversity. Forest relicts in the deepest valleys of the cultivated lower area suggest that a very rich forest flora inhabited Mount Kilimanjaro far in the past, with restricted-range species, otherwise only known from the Eastern Arc Mountains. This very low level of endemism on the mountain may be the direct consequence from destruction of lower altitude forest rather than the relatively young age of the mountain. The forests do not have a bamboo zone in comparison to other tall mountains in East Africa that have a similar high rainfall.
As you can see, Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the most interesting locations on the planet and only by visiting it and trying to climb the top you will find out the entire story behind this magnificent location that draws more and more tourists every year.
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