Mt. Kilimanjaro History and Facts
Basic details about the mountain and other facts about climbing
Kilimanjaro Basics
Mount Kilimanjaro lies a 3 degrees south of equator, on the northern boundary of Tanzania. None of the mountain is in Kenya, only Tanzania. Its approximately 600 km from the Indian Ocean, as its own freestanding mountain. Its dramatic size and height influence the climate, vegetation, animal life and the climbing conditions.
It is made up of three extinct volcanoes: Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters), Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters); and Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Apart from its dramatic geological features Mount Kilimanjaro, it’s the perfect destination for wildlife and plant enthusiasts. Kilimanjaro contains an …
Date: October 24th, 2005 |
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Kilimanjaro 101
If you don’t know anything about Mt. Kilimanjaro and want to know the basics about the mountain, then this article is a good overview of everything about the mountain. It explains the best times to go, the routes, and a little bit about it geologic history.
Read Kilimanjaro National Park
Date: September 14th, 2005 |
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3 Craters
There are 3 craters on Mt. Kilimanjaro - Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi. Some geologists claim that all the peaks were once above 5,000 meters. Shira was first to become extinct, then Mawenzi, and now Kibo is the only one active. Kibo is a dormant active volcano, you can smell the strong sulphur that comes from the inner ash pit.
Uhuru peak is the highest summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The highest peak on Mawenzi is Hans Meyer Point, which can only be reached by mountaineers.
Date: August 30th, 2005 |
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What does Kiliman Njaro mean?
What does the name “Kilimanjaro” mean? To be honest, nobody really knows exactly. It’s completely open to interpretation and many people have come up with plethora of ideas. You can break the word Kilimanjaro up into many parts, and each dominant group – the WaChagga and the Masai – have their own historical interpretation.
One of the most popular interpretations is breaking the word apart. In Kiswahili, the dominant language of Tanzania, the word Kilima means “small hill”, and while the word njaro means “greatness.” In theory, it could mean great, small hill. But one thing is for sure, Kilimanjaro is no small hill. It’s huge! Another interpretation is that the first part of the word Kilimanjaro - kilima - is a corruption of the Swahili word for “mountain,” which is mlima.
Date: October 7th, 2005 |
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Kilimanjaro Facts
Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and the world’s highest free-standing mountain at 19,340. It lies 205 miles south of the equator and stands on Tanzania’s northern border with Kenya. Kilimajaro is composed of 3 extinct volcanoes: Kibo (19,340 feet), Mawenzi (16,896 feet), and Shira (13,000 feet), supporting 5 major eco-zones: rainforest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and
glaciers. After reaching a height thought to be 5900 meters during its last major eruption 360,000 years ago, Kibo has been eroded by glaciers, rivers and landslides to its present height. Recently scientists discovered that Kibo is losing glaciers due to global warming …
Date: August 31st, 2005 |
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