THE GREAT KILIMANJARO

 

Its another beautiful day in May and would love to share a beautiful article about the great Mount Kilimanjaro the name alone means the MOUNTAIN OF GREATNESS. Kilima means mountain and njaro meaning greatness. Its Africas highest summit at 5895 meters (19,341 feet) and worlds highest free Standing Mountain. Its famous for its glacial cap and wide biodiversity, a dormant volcanic mountain with three volcanic cones, Mawezi, Shira and Kibo rising majestically above the Africa plains. Its the pride of Tanzania and the continent at large. Its dramatic snow capped mountain makes it a world heritage site. Indeed its the great Kilimanjaro with all its outstanding features.

 

The great mountain with all its beauty and uniqueness is threatened by climate change and deforestation, it is said in the near future the snow cap of the mountain will disappear, not only that but the unique flora and fauna of the mountain will also disappear. I would love to share with you in this article interesting facts about mt. Kilimanjaro, factors that destroy the ecology system of the mountain and the way to prevent further distraction.  What initiatives has the government and local person in Tanzania taken to conserve this beautiful mountain. This article is special to ask you to join in spreading the protective word of our beautiful mountain and welcome you all to Tanzania the land of the Kilimanjaro.

 

INTERESTING FACTS

  Did you know the mountains snow cap is diminishing having more than 80% of their mass since 1912. In fact, they may be completely ice free within the next 20 years according to scientist. This glacier constantly evolves melts and shrinks in dry season and regenerate in wet season. However 55% of the remaining glacier is depleting and the ice cap will eventually disappear as scientist predict.

 

 Did you know the last major eruption was about 360,000 years ago Uhuru the peak is dormant while Mawenzi and Shira are extinct. even though there has been fumaroles observation at the mountains crater its not due to erupt in the near future.

 

 Did you know it takes 6 to 9 days to reach Kilimanjaro summit while it took 6 weeks for the first German geographer Hans Mayer to successful summit the mountain.

 

 Did you know Endurance runner, a local guide Simon mtuy set the record for the fastest ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro unassisted, completing the trek up and down in just 9 hours and 22 minutes, he has then ascended to the summit 300 times.

 

 Nearly every climber who has summated Uhuru peak, the highest summit on Kibos crater rims, has recorded his/ her thought about the accomplishment in the book stored in the wooden box at the top.

 

 The oldest person to ever summit the Kilimanjaro was 87 years old a Frenchmen valtee Daniel. This is a major challenge out there for all young people to consider climbing this beautiful mountain.

 

The great Kilimanjaro has attracted visitors from various areas and various reasons including tourism and its an important source of foreign earrings for Tanzania. despite all these beauty it is faced by environmental hazards. There are several detected environmental problems. These include land degradation, non availability of good water this is due to destruction of water catchment areas, and loss of biodiversity the increased demand of fuel wood in rural and urban areas have contributed to loosing the natural habitat of the mountain, however cultivation of the famous Arabica coffee on the mountain slopes has also contributed to loss of biodiversity, deterioration of aquatic system, deforestation, frequent forest fire, and pollutions agrochemical and industrial fertilizer pollute the mountain slopes. These problems to only have a negative impact the environment but also the economy and well being of people living in Kilimanjaro region and other nearby places.

 

The good news is the government of Tanzania through its various organs has embarked on the protection the mountains national park and forest reserve. The government has come up with some strategies to conserve the mountain a conservation committee has been established to solve environmental problems. Also ensuring forest products are being used sustainably and properly controlled. The government has also banned natives from cutting down trees from the mountain watershed. The local people are also being involved in this conservation projects, various awareness campaigns have been launched, and also these organization makes sure they work closely with the local community surrounding the mountain for effective All this actions have helped to restore the mountains ecosystem however more is still to be done.

 

I believe it will be a wonderful experience to climb the mountain, and in this article I would love to declare my interest of climbing the mountain. Hopefully this July I will reach the summit of the beautiful Mount Kilimanjaro and I will share my picture with you all. But also I would love to invite you all to Tanzania particularly mount Kilimanjaro national park for a life time beauty and experience. It is said you do not need mountain climbing expriensce to ascent kilimanjaro you only have to be physical fit, WELCOME ALL.

 

SOURCES.

TANZANIA NATIONAL PARKS (TANAPA)

WWF- TANZANIA

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