Kilimanjaro (kĭl'ĭmənjä`rō), highest mountain of Africa, NE Tanzania. An extinct volcano, it rises in two peaks, Uhuru (Kibo; 19,340 ft/5,895 m, Africa's highest point) and Mawenzi (17,564 ft/5,354 m), which are joined by a broad saddle (alt. c.15,000 ft/4,600 m). The mountaintop is noted for its snowcap, but the area covered by snow has decreased sharply since the early 1990s. Coffee and plantains are the chief crops raised on Kilimanjaro's intensively cultivated lower southern slopes. Tourism from mountain climbing has become an important source of revenue.
Volcanic mountain, northeastern Tanzania. Situated in Kilimanjaro National Park (established 1973), it includes the peaks of three extinct volcanoes: Kibo, Mawensi, and Shira. Its highest peak is Kibo, which rises to 19,340 ft (5,895 m) and is the highest point in Africa. The first Europeans to see Kilimanjaro were German missionaries (1848). Kibo was first scaled in 1889 and Mawensi (16,896 ft [5,150 m]) in 1912.
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro
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Crater rim of Kilimanjaro at dawn.
(credit: Gerald Cubitt)
Kilimanjaro
a volcanic massif in N Tanzania: the highest peak in Africa; extends from east to west for 80 km (50 miles). Height: 5895 m (19 340 ft.)
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