12 Interesting Facts about Mount Kilimanjaro
12 Interesting Facts about Mount Kilimanjaro : Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest Mount in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world, the mountain stands at 5,895 meters above the sea level. Mountain Kilimanjaro is climbed by thousands of climbers each, are you planning climbing this glorious mountain, here are the 12 interesting facts you need to know about Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the 7 summits
Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa which makes it one of the 7 summits in the world, the 7 summits in the world are as follows in order from highest to lowest.
- Everest (29,035’/8850m) found in Asia
- Aconcagua (22,834’/6960m) found South America
- Denali (20,310’/6,190m) found in North America
- Kilimanjaro (19,340’/5895m) found in Africa
- Elbrus (18,513’/5642m) found in Europe
- Carstensz Pyramid (16,023’/4884m) found in Oceania.
Mount Kilimanjaro is a very popular mountain for both experienced hikers and first time hikers as it is considered to be the easiest of 7 summits in the world. Scaling Mount Kilimanjaro requires no technical skills or equipments such as ropes, harness, crampon or ice axe. Mount Kilimanjaro is considered a hiking or walk up peak not a mountaineering or climbing peak.
- Mount Kilimanjaro stands on its own
Mount Kilimanjaro is the world’s tallest free standing mountain with its peak in the names of Uhuru Point at 5,895 meters (19,341 feet) above sea level.
Most high mountains in the world such as Mount Everest’s Himalayan Mountain Rage are part of ranges, these are formed in a process called plate tectonics. Below the ground, earth’s crust is made up of multiple tectonic plates which have been moving since the beginning of time due to geologic activity.
When the tectonic plates push against each other, the edges crumple forcing slabs of rock into the air, these are known as Fold mountains are the most common type of mountain. A fault – block Mountain range is caused when a fault in the Earth’s crust pushes blocks of rock up between two tectonic plates, the uplifted blocks become Block Mountains.
Free standing Mountains such as Mount Kilimanjaro are formed as a result of volcanic activity, the volcanic mountains are formed when molten rock erupts and piles upon the surface.
- The mountain lies on the Equator
The equator is an imaginary line dividing the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, the line passes through the exact center of the earth thus dividing it in half.
The Equator is distinct from the rest of the globe due to the high amount of solar radiation it receives, the equator also experien
ces the equatorial climate that stays nearly the same year – around. The dominant patterns around the equator are either warm and wet or warm and dry.
Mount Kilimanjaro lies just 205 miles from the equator in Tanzania, when the early explorers reported seeing glaciers on top of Mount Kilimanjaro, people did not believe it as it thought it was impossible for ice to form so close to form so close to the hot, equatorial sun.
Scientists now believe that the glaciers shrink and then regrow during the planet’s ice ages.
- Mount Kilimanjaro has 3 volcanic cones
Mount Kilimanjaro’s formation is credited to volcanic activity, however the mountain once had 3 volcanic cones that is Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi.
- Kibo (19,340’/5,895m)
- Mawenzi (16,893’/5,149m)
- Shira (13,000’/3,962m)
Kibo Peak is the tallest cone and also the central cone of Mount Kilimanjaro and this is where the summit lies, the peak was formed 460,000 years ago.
The Mawenzi cone is a craggy peak ranking as the 3rd highest peak in Africa after Kibo and Mount Kenya at (12,549’/3825m). During your hike on Mount Kilimanjaro, you will enjoy good views of Mawenzi on the Rongai and Northern Circuit routes. Shira is no longer a peak, this cone was estimated to have been about 16,000 feet high before it collapse creating the Shira Plateau on the western side of the Mountain. The Shira plateau is crossed by The Machame, Lemosho and Shira routes.
- Mount Kilimanjaro is not dead, its dormant approximately
Mount Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano which means a very large volcano made of ash, lava and rock. Shira and Mawenzi cones are extinct volcanoes which there is no activity underneath these cones, they are cut off from their supply of lava.
However, Kibo cone is considered a dormant volcano meaning it can erupt again, a volcano hasn’t erupted in the last 10,000 years but scientists think it will erupt again that is why it is considered dormant.
The last major eruption noticed on Mount Kilimanjaro was 360,000 years ago, the most recent activity was 200,000 years ago. The ash pit is a 2 hour round trip hike from the highest campsites – the Crater Camp. Hikers who visit the ash pit will be greeted by the smell of sulfur from the Volcano’s lava.
- The real meaning of Kilimanjaro is unknown
The origin of the name Kilimanjaro is not certain, European explorers adopted the name “Kilimanjaro” by 1860 and reported that Kilimanjaro was the mountain’s Swahili name.
According to the 1907 Edition if the Nuttall Encyclopaedia, the name of the mountain was “Kilima – Njaro” comprised of the Swahili word “Kilima” meaning “Mountain” and the Chagga word “Njaro” meaning “Whiteness”.
The German Missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf wrote in his Missionary Labours (1860)- “The Swahili of the Coast call the snow – mountain Kilimanjaro – Mountain of greatness”. It may also mean “Mountain of Caravans” (kilima – mountain, Jaro caravans) a landmark for caravans seen everywhere from a far but the inhabitants of Jagga call it Kibo “snow”.
Another possibility is thKilimanjaroat is the European pronunciation of a KiChagga Phrase meaning “we failed to climb it”.
- The first ascent was more than a century ago
Mount Kilimanjaro was first climbed in 1889 by a German geologist Hans Meyer, an Austrian climber Ludwig Purtscheller and a local guide Yohani Kinyala Lauwo.
On the first attempt in 1887, Meyer made it to the base of Kibo but had to turn around there. He encountered thick snow and ice walls and did not have equipment for heavy snow and ice.
He also made a second attempt in 1888 which was also unsuccessful, but it was not due to the mountain itself but because Meyer was captured and held as a prisoner by locals as part of the Abushiri Revolt, when the Arab and Swahili population rebelled against German traders. He was later freed after the demanded ransom was paid.
Meyer finally succeeded in ascending in 1889, his support team included a guide, 2 local tribe leaders, 9 porters and a cook. They reached the summit on the southern rim of the crater, the Marangu route closely follows Meyer’s groundbreaking path up and down Kilimanjaro.
- Half of the people who attempt Kilimanjaro fail.
Over 30,000 people attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro every year, though it is not substantiated, often 50% of the climbers fail. This may come as a surprise as Mount Kilimanjaro is not regarded as a particularly difficult peak when compared to other mountains. After all, Mount Kilimanjaro is not a technical peak and does not require superman abilities to scale it.
Most people fail because of the altitude sickness, people make a mistake of selecting the wrong route and many who fail choose to climb on the Marangu route which is the shortest path (5 days round trip) to the peak. However the best way to climb is to use a longer route to aid in acclimatization.
Also, many people climbing Mountain Kilimanjaro are first time backpackers, they do not adequately prepare for their climb in terms of having the right gear, doing enough training and hiring a reputable guide services.
- Elite athlete have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro really fast
Mount Kilimanjaro has been tackled at a pace that will amaze any climber, the fastest ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro was completed by Swiss Karl Egloff in just 6 hours and 42 minutes in 2014.
Many people may wonder how this is possible, Athletes who do perform speed climbs of high altitude mountain have already well acclimatized to the altitude prior to their attempt. They have spent many days or weeks at high elevation to prepare, therefore the risk of acute mountain sickness is eliminated. Some other notable accomplishment on Mount Kilimanjaro include Spanish mountain runner Killian Jornet’s ascent to Uhuru Peak in just 5 hours 23 minutes and 50 seconds in 2010.
German Anne – Marie Flammersfeld holds the record for the fastest ascent and descent by a woman on Kilimanjaro, climbing to the summit in 8 hours 32 minutes and reaching the bottom in a total time on the mountain of 12 hours 58 minutes in 2015.
Tanzanian Simon Mtuy holds a record for fastest unaided ascent “meaning that the climber carried his own food, water and clothing”, he climbed to the summit and back in 9 hours 19 minutes in 2006.
- The young and the Old have Conquered Kilimanjaro
Any individual with a reasonable degree of fitness can climb and conquer Mountain Kilimanjaro, the oldest person to successfully climb Mount Kilimanjaro is 89 year old American Woman Anne Lorimor. She took the world record in 2019 from Dr. Fred Distelhorst who was 88 when he summited.
The youngest person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro is American Coaltan Tanner who summited at age of six in 2018, the youngest girl to summit is Ashleen Mandrick who was also six years from Montannah Kenney, who was seven.
The minimum age for an individual to climb Mount Kilimanjaro is 10 years old, but the authority grants exceptions to children who have significant experience trekking.
- The journey to the summit is like going from the equator to Antarctica
While on a hike on Mount Kilimanjaro, trekkers will experience 5 distinct ecological zones on the way to the top, these include Bushland/Cultivated Zone: 2,600′-6,000’/800m-1,800m
Rainforest Zone: 6,000′-9,200’/1,800m-2,800m
Heath/Moorland Zone: 9,200′-13,200’/2,800m-4,000m
Alpine Desert Zone: 13,200′-16,500’/4,000m-5,000m
Arctic Zone:16,500’+/5,000m+
Near the base of the Mountain tend to be tropical to semi-temperature and are relatively stable all year round, the lower plains are hot and dry. As one head away from the bushland towards the rainforest, conditions become increasingly warm and humid.
Each zone gets colder and drier as the elevation increases, plant and animal life also disappear with the rise in altitude through the heath and alpine desert zones.
The summit of Mount Kilimanjaro is in the arctic zone characterized by ice and rock, this altitude is categorized as extreme, there can be no permanent human habituation as the body is in a state of deterioration (short exposures are ok).
- The ice cap of Mount Kilimanjaro is destined to disappear
Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers are the poster child of global climate change, its icecap has shrunk 82% since 1912, scientists estimate the glaciers may be completely gone in 50 years, the cause of this is thought to be due to deforestation and global warming – though not necessary.
According to Author Doug Hardy, a geologist from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, melting and sublimation which means the transition from solid phase directly to vapor, both contributes to the loss of ice. The glaciers have been in retreat from more than a century says Hardy, with a drying climate in East Africa which is one main culprit.
At the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, there is approximately 5 million indigenous trees planted around its base in 2008 as a way to combat the issue.
