Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It is the highest mountain in Africa, rising 4,877m above the surrounding savanna plains to 5,895m and its base covers an area of about 388,500 ha.

Named ‘shining mountain’ after its characteristic icecap, visible from the distance when sunlit, it is located 300 km south of the equator in northern Tanzania. Glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro are now much reduced, as a result of regional warming linked to global climate change. In the 38 years between 1962 and 2000, the glacier area was reduced by about 55 per cent. The disappearing glaciers on Mt Kilimanjaro are among the few undisputed signs of global warming from Africa.

Kilimanjaro’s value

With its snow-capped peak standing alone almost 5km above the surrounding plains Mt. Kilimanjaro is a superlative natural feature and a powerful symbol of the country. It is also an essential water catchment for the surrounding countryside and protects wildlife and a unique endemic flora. The Kilimanjaro

National Park declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987 lies within the Conservation International-designated Eastern Afromontane Conservation Hotspot, is a WWF Global 200 Eco-region, a WWF/IUCN Centre of Plant Diversity and one of the world’s Endemic Bird Areas.

KILIMANJARO IN GENERAL

GOALS OF THE EXPEDITION

RECONNAISSANCE-WEEK 2009