Volcano is a very beautiful, but at the same time dangerous and unpredictable phenomenon of nature. Seeing its eruption means getting an unforgettable experience, but at this time you need to be at a great distance from the center of events, because it covers huge areas with ash, lava and volcanic bombs. Such natural phenomena exist on all continents. And today we will talk about what is the largest volcano in Africa, what it is.
The highest, but no longer active volcano here is Kilimanjaro. Its height is approximately 5895 meters. In Swahili, the name means "white mountain". The largest volcano in Africa is located in Tanzania, just 300 km south of the equator. Kilimanjaro consists of 3 separate cones, the highest peak is Kibo (5895 meters). The second peak is Mawenzi (5149 m), the third is Shira (3962 m). At the top of Kibo is a crater, diameterwhich is approximately 3 km, and the depth is 800 m.
The highest volcano in Africa, whose name you already know, began to form several million years ago, when the lava went beyond the fault zone. Mawenzi and Shira are already extinct peaks, but Kibo can leave the state of rest at any moment and flare up with renewed vigor. The last significant eruption was 360,000 years ago, and data on the activity of the volcano were recorded in the 19th century.
Kilimanjaro was discovered by Johannes Rebman. This happened in 1848, although, of course, mention of this volcano was many years before the official discovery date. Austrian Ludwig Purcheller and German Hans Meyer were the first to climb the highest peak of Kilimanjaro on October 6, 1889.
The largest volcano in Africa has a lot of snow on its top, which appeared there many years ago after the ice age, and now its amount is gradually decreasing. Scientists believe that soon the snow will disappear there altogether.
Kilimanjaro is a beautiful mountain, climbing which is very popular with tourists, because it allows you to feel 3 climatic zones at once. At the very beginning (the first 3 km) there is a tropical forest, mountain rivers, streams and waterfalls. Residents in this area successfully grow bananas, coffee, and corn. In the middle of the ascent there is a desert, and at the very top there is snow. Features of Kilimanjaro are the absence of a bamboo zone and a largebiodiversity with rather low endemicity of some species.
The biggest volcano in Africa is the perfect place for tourists. There are even specially created routes here, some of them are designed exclusively for ascent, others for descent. However, this is not as easy as it might seem. Before climbing, people must be prepared, because at a considerable height it is easy to experience a lack of oxygen, headache and hypothermia. Pulmonary or cerebral edema may occur. According to some reports, more people died on Kilimanjaro than on Everest.
There are also active volcanoes in Africa, and one of the largest of those is Cameroon, whose height is more than 4 km. He is quite active, so he has a good chance of gaining a lot of height quickly.
