10 Things You Didn't Know About Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro Facts.
- Vertical Sky Blogger!
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
Everyone knows Kilimanjaro is 5,895 metres tall. Everyone knows it is the highest
mountain in Africa. Everyone knows it has snow near the equator, which is unusual.
These are the facts on the poster.
Here are the facts that are not on the poster.
1. It is not one mountain - it is three volcanoes
Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo, the highest; Mawenzi at
5,149 metres; and Shira, the lowest at 4,005 metres. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct,
while Kibo is dormant and could erupt again. When you look at Kilimanjaro from a
distance and see that iconic shape, you are looking at the remains of three separate
volcanic events separated by hundreds of thousands of years.
2. There is still magma sitting 400 metres below the summit
Scientists believe that molten magma still courses through the mountain just 400 metres
beneath Kibo's summit crater. Even though the peak is frigid, Kilimanjaro itself is hot. You
are walking over an active geological system every time you climb it. The mountain is
classified as dormant, not extinct. Those are very different things.
3. The last eruption was hundreds of thousands of years ago, but volcanic activity happened just 200 years ago
The last major eruption occurred approximately 360,000 years ago, with the most recent
lava flow around 200,000 years ago. But more recently than that, volcanic activity just
over 200 years ago left a symmetrical inverted cone of ash in the Reusch Crater,
known as the Ash Pit, that can still be seen today. You walk past evidence of relatively
recent volcanic activity on every summit attempt.
4. The crater is 2 kilometres wide and 300 metres deep
The dome of Kibo contains a caldera on its southern side approximately 2km wide and
300 metres deep. Inside that caldera sits the Reusch Crater, and inside the Reusch
Crater sits the Ash Pit, 120 metres deep, a stark reminder of Kilimanjaro's volcanic
past. Most people stand on Uhuru Peak on the crater rim and have no idea of the scale of
what they are standing on the edge of.
5. The glaciers are disappearing, but not entirely because of climate change
Since 1912, the mountain has lost 82% of its ice cap. Most people assume this is
straightforward global warming. The reality is more complex. Kilimanjaro's glaciers occur
about 1,000 metres above where the mean freezing level exists, too high to be affected by small local air temperature changes. The ice is disappearing primarily due to solar
radiation causing sublimation, where ice turns directly to vapour. The real culprit appears
to be a dramatic reduction in precipitation over the last century caused by a shift in Indian
Ocean dynamics. Climate change has likely accelerated this, but the story is not as
simple as it is usually told.
6. Someone skied down Kilimanjaro in 1912
In December 1912, Walter Furtwangler organised an expedition to the summit and
descended on skis, alpine skiing in Africa near the equator. No one had done that
before. The glacier he descended is now named after him. It is also now a fragment of
what it was. When Furtwangler skied it, there was more snow than ice on the mountain.
7. Nobody actually knows what Kilimanjaro means, and there are at least five theories
The most widely accepted etymology comes from two words: Kilima meaning mountain
and Njaro meaning greatness, whiteness or shining, giving Mountain of Greatness,
Shining Mountain, or Mountain of Whiteness. The Maasai living on the plains had a
different interpretation entirely, calling it the Mountain of Water, as the Maasai word
ngare means water source. Given that the mountain's glaciers feed rivers across the
region this is not an unreasonable name. The Chagga word Kilemakyaro means that
which makes the journey impossible. There is also the evil spirit theory, Njaro may be
the name of a guardian spirit who lives on the mountain. The official position is simply
that the origin and meaning of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown. The most famous
mountain in Africa has been keeping its own secret for centuries.
8. A European missionary reported seeing snow on the equator in 1848, and nobody believed him
German missionary Johannes Rebmann is credited as the first European to report the
mountain's existence in 1848. When he returned to Europe and described a
snow-capped mountain near the equator, the geographical establishment refused to
believe him. The idea of permanent snow that close to the equator was considered
scientifically impossible. It took decades and multiple expeditions before the
establishment accepted he was telling the truth.
9. It is the fourth most prominent mountain on Earth
When it comes to topographical prominence, the height between the summit and the
lowest contour line encircling the mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro ranks fourth in the
world, trailing only Mount Everest, Aconcagua, and Denali. It rises nearly 5,000 metres
above its own base. That is what makes it genuinely extraordinary, not just how high it
is, but how alone it stands.
10. You walk through five climate zones in a single climb
From the tropical rainforest at the gate to the arctic conditions of the summit, a
Kilimanjaro climb passes through five completely distinct ecological zones. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro feels like trekking from the tropics to the Arctic without ever leaving
Tanzania. The distance from the equatorial forest floor to permanent ice and glaciers is a
journey that takes most people eight days. Geographically it is one of the most
extraordinary transitions on Earth.
Ready to experience all five climate zones for yourself? Vertical Sky runs fully private Kilimanjaro expeditions. vertical-sky.com
Comments