Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 meters / 19,341 feet above sea level. It has three volcanic cones – Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira and is a dormant stratovolcano in northeastern Tanzaina. Mount Kilimanjaro is both the tallest freestanding mountain and the fourth most prominent mountain in the entire world, rising to an impressive 5,882 meters / 19,298 feet from the base.
The etymology of the word “Kilimanjaro” is uncertain. Many consider it to be a combination of the Swahili word “Kilima” (mountain) and the Kichagga word “Njaro” (whiteness), thus giving the name White Mountain. Other people think that it is the result of the word “Njaro” in Chagga/Kichagga” (our) and hence it results – Kilimanjaro = our mountain. This is from the Chagga people who in the past used to live at the base of the mountain. The name “Kibo” in Kichagga means “spotted” and refers to rocks seen in snowfields. The Swahili word “Uhuru” means “freedom”, a name attributed to celebrate Tanzania’s independence from Britain won in 1961.
Turning to geology, it is the fourth highest mountain of the Seven Summits. Uhuru Peak rises to an incredible altitude of 5895m AMSL (above main sea level). The mountain is made up 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. Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on the rim of Kibo Crater. Although dormant, the mountain has fumaroles that emit gas into Kibo’s main summit crater. Geologists and scientists concluded a study in 2003 which found that the motel magma lies only 400 m / 1,310 ft below the summit crater. Many collapses and landslides have taken place on Kibo in the past century, one of them creating the area known as the Western Breach.
Because it is a sky island, Kilimanjaro has unique vegetation, such as water-bearing cabbage in tussock grasslands, as well as other plants like it, all adapted to living in alpine conditions. Kilimanjaro is known to have a wide variety of forest types in an altitudinal range of 3,000 m / 9,843 ft containing over 1,200 species of vascular plants. The montane forests of Ocotea occur on the humid southern slope. Erica’s subalpine forests at 4,100m/13,451ft represent the highest elevation cloud forests in all of Africa.
However, the degree of endemism is low despite the immense biodiversity. Forest relicts in the deeper valleys of the lower cultivated area suggest that a very rich forest flora inhabited Mount Kilimanjaro in the past, with species of restricted distribution, otherwise only known from the Eastern Arc Mountains. This very low level of endemism on the mountain may be the direct consequence of the destruction of the lower altitude forest rather than the relatively young age of the mountain. The forests do not have a bamboo zone compared to other high mountains in East Africa which have similar high rainfall.
As you can see, Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the most interesting places on the planet and only by visiting it and trying to climb to the top will you discover the whole story behind this magnificent place that attracts more and more tourists every year.