Mt. Kilimanjaro
Moshi is situated near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I’m staying an extra week at the end of October to climb. Here are some facts about the mountain.
- Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa – Height: 5895 meters or 19,340 feet
- It’s the highest free-standing mountain in the world – rising 16 000 feet (4900 meters) above the plains at its base
- Location: 3 degrees south of the equator latitude and 37° East in longitude; near the Kenyan border, Kilimanjaro lies completely within Tanzania
- Area: 60 miles (100 kilometres) long & 40 miles (65 kilometres) wide, including all three separate volcanoes
- Age: The volcanoes began erupting about 2 million years ago
- Original names : Original Swahili name – Kilima Njaro & original Masai name – Oldoinyo Oibor
- The peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi are joined by a broad saddle 7 miles (11 kilometers) long
- Kilimanjaro is one of the largest volcanoes ever to break through the earth’s crust
- Best time to climb & seasons: All year round, but most avoid the rainy season: The long rainy season is from April to May, the short rainy season is mostly in November/beginning of December
- Within its greater ecosystem lies almost every kind of environment found on earth (over 5 kinds)– from tropical rain forest, Alpine vegetation, moorland, desert uplands, to snow and ice
Colliding With The Earth 