Due to Kilimanjaro's equatorial location and high elevation, almost every climate type on earth is represented, including a year-round snow-topped summit.
The summit of Kilimanjaro is covered by a GSM mobile phone network, provided by Vodacom It was previously the highest point in the world with mobile phone service; China Mobile now provides coverage at the top of Mt. Everest
Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the largest stratovolcanoes in the world. Otherwise known as a composite volcano, it comprises of numerous layers of lava, tephra and volcanic ash. Tephra is rhyolitic (an igneous, extrusive rock) in composition, and is formed by air-fall material of an eruption, which suggests the composite volcano was once active. However, at the moment it is dormant. According to experts there have been no eruptions in living memory, which suggests it has been dormant for millions of years. Mount Kilimanjaro is in the shape of a conical volcano; it is formed by ejecta being thrown up by the volcano vent, which then piles around the vent in the shape of a cone. Due to the fact that Mount Kilimanjaro is made up of tephra, it has a cinder cone. This is because the mountains cone is made up of tephra cinders. They are made up of blobs of congealed lava and particles. When the mountain did erupt millions of years ago, the gas-charged lava would be blown violently into the air, then breaking the smaller fragments which would solidify and fall as cinders. This left Mount Kilimanjaro with a bowl-shaped crater. Moreover, as Mount Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcanoe then they can have explosive eruptions. The lava from the mountain is viscous (it’s a measure of the thickness of a fluid which is deformed by shear stress or extensional stress) which cools down before it spreads very far, which explains the mountains small crater. The rock on the mountain is felsic and has high levels of silica (in this case tephra). It is also in alternating sectors, with lava flows and ejecta in different formations. This is called stratum, which is usually formed by natural forces i.e. volcanic eruptions from Mount Kilimanjaro. The volcano is the highest in Africa reaching 5,895m high. It also covers an area of 388, 500ha. Although the volcano stands alone, it is a part of an east-west belt of volcanoes stretching over Northern Tanzania. It has three main concentric cones to the southeast in the mountain, but also has smaller parasitic cones. Also known as a satellite cone, the main vent is blocked by cooled solidified lava, and the lava is then forced out through the sides of a volcano under immense pressure. To the west side of the mountain is the peak Shira (3,962m), of which only the southern and western rims remain. In addition to the west there is also a flat tableland. On the edges of this material is later material made by the former eruptions of the mountain, and so it’s a dissected plateau. This is a plateau which has been uplifted by volcanic activity, then been severely eroded, which explains the material around the edge of the plateau. The peak of Mawenzi (5,149m) - which is rugged and erosion-shattered- can be found in the east of the volcano. Its western face has many features: crags, pinnacles and dyke swarms. Crags are a steeped mass of rock projecting upward or outward. Pinnacles are high peaks or points of rock, but in Mount Kilimanjaros case then it’s a high point of rock. A dike (plural dyke swarm) is a type of sheet intrusion that cuts discordantly across. These come in several forms: planar wall rock structures or massive rock formations. On Mawenzi these are formed in igneous intrusions. These form in high aspect ratios, so the thickness is smaller than the other 2 dimensions. The dykes intrude into a cross-cutting fissure. These are linear volcanic vents through which lava erupts, although Mount Kilimanjaro is dormant so it does not happen. To the eastern side of Mawenzi it falls into cliffs, with a complex system of gullies and rock faces. These rises from two massive gorges: the Great Barranco and Lesser Barranco. Gorges are deep valleys between cliffs that are formed by erosion, and were formed from the plateau that can be found to the eastern side of the mountain. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion/weathering remain exposed on the valley walls. The most recent summit is Kibo (5,895m) which was last active during the Pleistocene. There are still even fumaroles. Even though there haven’t been eruptions for millions of years, there are openings near Kobe in the Earth’s crust which emits steam and gases e.g. Carbon Dioxide, Hydrochloric Acid. It even emits solfatara (Sulphurous gages). They occur along the chaotic clusters and long fissures. The hot igneous rocks react with the groundwater, which makes it release gases. The highest point on the mountain is the southern rim of the outer crater. Moreover, between Kibo and Mawenzi is the Saddle, in which it contains high altitude tundra. This type of vegetation forms at high levels of altitude because tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. There is a wide range of vegetation despite being at high altitude such as dwarf shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens. The ecotone (difference between tundra and forest) is called the timberland. On Mount Kilimanjaro there are radial valleys that can be found on the southern and eastern slopes. They are smaller valleys that flank the mountains main valleys.
It is unknown where the name Kilimanjaro comes from, but a number of theories exist. European explorers had adopted the name by 1860 and reported that it was its Swahili name,[11] that Kilimanjaro breaks Kilima (Swahili for "hill, little mountain") and Njaro,[12] whose supposed origin varies according to the theories—according to some it's an ancient Swahili word for white or for shining,[13] or for the non-Swahili origin, a word from the Kichagga language, the word jaro meaning caravan. The problem with all these is that they can't explain why the diminutive kilima is used instead of the proper word for mountain, mlima. A different approach is to assume that it comes from the Kichagga kilmanare or kileajao meaning "which defeats the bird/leopard/caravan". However this theory can't explain the fact that Kilimanjaro was never used in Kichagga before in Europe in the mid-1800s.[11]
In the 1880s the mountain, called Kilmanscharo in German, became a part of German East Africa after Karl Peters had persuaded local chiefs to sign treaties (a common story that Queen Victoria gave the mountain to Kaiser Wilhelm II is not true).[14] In 1889 Uhuru Peak on Kibo was named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze,[11] which was used in the German Empire until its defeat in 1918, when the territory became British-administered Tanganyika and the name was discontinued.
There are several routes by which to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, namely, Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho, Shira, Umbwe and Machame. Of all the routes, Machame is by far the most scenic albeit steeper route up the mountain. The Rongai is the easiest camping route and the Marangu is also easy, but accommodation is in huts. As a result, this route tends to be very busy and ascent and descent routes are the same.
Persons wishing to climb Mt Kilimanjaro are advised to undertake appropriate research and ensure that they are both properly equipped and physically capable. Though the climb is technically very easy, the altitude and low temperature make this a difficult and dangerous trek. Acclimatisation is essential, and even then most people suffer some degree of altitude sickness. About 10 climbers die from this each year, together with an unknown number of local porters - figures for these are guessed at between 10-20. Kilimanjaro summit is well above the altitude at which high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can occur. All climbers will suffer considerable discomfort, typically shortage of breath, hypothermia and headaches, and though most young, fit people can make the Uhuru summit, a substantial number of trekers will abandon the attempt at a lower altitude.
High altitude climbing clubs have criticised the Tanzanian authorities for charging fees for each day spent on the mountain. This can encourage climbers to climb rapidly to save time and money, while proper acclimatisation demands that delays are built in to any high climb.
Tanzanian Medical Services around the mountain have expressed concern recently over the current influx of tourists that apparently percieve Kilimanjaro as an easy climb. Many individuals require significant medical attention during their attempts, and many are forced to abandon the climb. An investigation into the matter concluded that tourists visiting Tanzania were often encouraged to join groups heading up the mountain without being made aware of the significant physical demands the climb makes. source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilimanjaro
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