MIGHTY MOUNT KILIMANJARO

 

Photograph by MUHAMMAD MAHDI KARIM
 

Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak).

In 1889 the peak of Kibo was named “Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze” (“Kaiser Wilhelm peak”) by Hans Meyer, on the first ascent to the summit on 5 October 1889. that name was used until 1918, when after World War I the German colonies were handed over to the British empire. When British-administered Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961, the peak was named “Uhuru peak”, meaning “Freedom peak” in Swahili.

Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago, when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone. Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago. [Source]

 

via Wikimedia Commons