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Actually made up of three volcanic cones, what we think of as the summit is the middle of these called Kibo. Its summit on the outer crater rim is called Uhuru Peak and at 5,895m is the highest point in Africa, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, one of the largest volcanoes ever to erupt onto the surface of the earth. It is also the 4th highest of the "Seven Summits" representing the highest points on each of the continents. Kilimajaro's other peaks Shira, the oldest at 3,962m and more of a plateau following collapse and in-filling with lava from Kibo and Mawenzi at 5,149m which is a jagged formation of rocks formed from erosion of its volcanic core. Kilimanjaro was first climbed in 1889 by the German Hans Meyer and many of the features on the mountain, in particular the glaciers, are named after those early explorers - Rebmann Glacier, Decken Glacier, Reusch Crater, Hans Meyer Point and so on. Over the years the numbers of people attempting to climb the mountain has grown to its current and whopping level of more than 25,000 each year, some of whom attempt it for purely personal reasons but a significant number of whom are drawn to it to raise money for charity. To help ensure its preservation Kilimanjaro was designated as a National Park in 1973 and a World Heritage Site in 1987. Before that it was recognised as a forest reserve, which is a label put on the area and dating back to German colonial times. The National Park encompasses all of the land above 2,700m and encloses and area of more than 750km2. One of Kilimanjaro's best-known features are its glaciers. The fact that permanent ice can exist at the equator is probably one of the most fascinating facts about the mountain and must have led to complete disbelief when the first European explorers returned home with stories of this white-topped giant. From Moshi, over 30km distant from and 5,000m below, these glaciers may look like no more than piles of snow but up close they are spectacular and very large features rising 40m above the volcanic rock and debris on which they stand. Apparently the current glaciers date back only about 12,000 years, before which one has to go back a further 10,000 years to find the previous glacial period on the mountain. 100 years ago, around the time of the first assent, there was over 12km2 of permanent ice on the summit. However, for a variety of reasons the ice is melting from the bottom up, which makes things quite unstable. There is now only about 2km2 of ice remaining on the summit, so the picture painted is much different than it was in Meyer's day. Researchers predict that the summit may well be ice-free by about 2025. The cause is not fully understood. Some suggest climate change; others the residual heat from within the dormant volcano below. Whatever the reason, ice on the equator will probably soon be the thing of history books. Whether that will change the allure of the mountain and its positive impact on the local economy remains to be seen.
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Kilimanjaro
is an enormous, dormant, volcano positioned just over 300km
south of the equator in Tanzania and near its northern
border with Kenya. It is about 60km by 40km and rises about 5,000m above the
surrounding plains, ensuring it makes an enormous impact
on the landscape in which it stands.
