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Albertine Rift Montane Forests
The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity. Geography The high montane forests cover the western portions of Rwanda and Burundi, the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and portions of western Uganda and Tanzania. This area occupies the parallel Albertine Rift Mountains that enclose the western branch of the East African Rift. The mountain ranges include the Lendu Plateau of Uganda (the forest is almost completely cleared from here), and the Virunga Mountains and Rwenzori Mountains of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the highest elevations of the Rwenzori and Virunga ranges (above 3000 meters), the forests transition to the Afroalpine Rwenzori–Virunga montane moorlands ecoregion, including the high peaks of Mount Stanley and Mount Karisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda in the Kanungu District. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from . The forest contains around 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns. Origin of name The name Bwindi is derived from the Runyakitara word ''Mubwindi'' and means "a place full of darkness". This name comes from the extensive stands of bamboo interspersed amongst the larger forest hardwoods. The bamboo and thick ground cover of ferns, vines, and other plant growth severely hinder direct access on foot. Also known as the "Place of Darkness", the forest is on the edge of the western arm of the Great Rift Valley, only a few kilometers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) border and about north of the Virunga Mountains. Wildlife The forest is one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth. Half of the world's popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albertine Rift
The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tanganyika. The geographical term includes the valley and the surrounding mountains. Geology The Albertine Rift and the mountains are the result of tectonic movements that are gradually splitting the Somali Plate away from the rest of the African continent. The mountains surrounding the rift are composed of uplifted Pre-Cambrian basement rocks, overlaid in parts by recent volcanic rocks. Lakes and rivers The northern part of the rift is crossed by two large mountain ranges, the Rwenzori Mountains between Lake Albert and Lake Rutanzige (formerly Lake Edward) and the Virunga Mountains between Lake Rutanzige and Lake Kivu. The Virungas form a barrier between the Nile Basin to the north and east and the Congo Basin to the west and south. Lak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is a national park in northwestern Rwanda. It covers of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains, namely Mount Karisimbi, Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Bisoke, Mount Muhabura, Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, Gahinga and Mount Sabyinyo, Sabyinyo. It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. It is home to the mountain gorilla and the golden monkey, and was the base for the primatologist Dian Fossey. History The park was first gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Bisoke and Mount Mikeno, Mikeno, intended to protect the gorillas from poachers. It was the very first National Park to be created in Africa. Subsequently, in 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into Rwanda and into the Belgian Congo, to form the Albert National Park, a huge area of 8090 km2, run by the Belgian colonial authorities who were in charge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruhengeri
Ruhengeri, also known as Musanze or Muhoza, is a city and capital of Musanze District in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Some sources now refer to the city itself as Musanze, after the district in which it lies within. This has to do with the adopted policy of renaming Rwanda cities, which was done to eliminate memories of the past and to install new administrations in the country. Ruhengeri lies near the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo and is the gateway city to Volcanoes National Park and the famous mountain gorillas in the north-western part of the country. The city's proximity to the Volcanoes National Park Volcanoes National Park is a national park in northwestern Rwanda. It covers of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains, namely Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. It borders Virunga N ... has made it a popular tourist destination with several restaurants and hotels mainly aimed at visitors to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kibale National Park
Kibale Forest National Park is a national park in western Uganda, protecting moist evergreen rainforest. It is in size and ranges between and in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes.McGrew, William, ''et al''. ''Great Ape Societies''. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Kibale is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests. In eastern Africa, it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest. The park was gazetted in 1932 and formally established in 1993 to protect a large area of forest previously managed as a logged forest reserve. The park forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park. This adjoining of the parks creates a wildlife corridor. It is an important ecotourism and safari destination, well-known for its population of habituated chimpanzees and twelve other species of primates. It is also the location of the Makerere University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Portal
Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom. Location Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on an all-tarmac two-lane highway. The geographical coordinates of Fort Portal City are 0°39'16.0"N, 30°16'28.0"E (Latitude:0.654444; Longitude:30.274444). Fort Portal is situated at an average elevation of above sea level. City Status On 1st July 2020, Fort Portal was elevated from municipality to a ''"Tourism city"'' status. In 2019, in preparation for the award of city status, Ford Portal annexed several surrounding neighborhoods and sub-counties, including (a) Karago (b) Ibaale Parish (c) Burungu Parish (d) Karambi sub-county (e) Bukuku sub-county and (f) parts of Busoro sub-county. Population According to the 2002 national census, the population of Fort Portal was about 41,000. In 2010, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Heha
Mount Heha is the highest mountain in Burundi and the highest point in the Burundi Highlands mountain range. It is located in the Bujumbura Rural province of Burundi and it lies approximately 20 km to the east of Lake Tanganyika and about 30 km to the southeast of Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ..., the largest city and former capital of Burundi. References External links Peakbagger listing Heha Highest points of countries {{Burundi-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Karisimbi
Mount Karisimbi is an active stratovolcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. At , Karisimbi is the highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is a part of Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Karisimbi is flanked by Mikeno to the north, Bisoke to the east and Nyiragongo to the west, on the other side of the Rift Valley. Karisimbi is the 11th highest mountain of Africa. The name Karisimbi comes from the word 'amasimbi' in the local language, Kinyarwanda, which means ''snow''. Snow can mostly be found during the dry season in June, July and August on the top of the volcano. Between Karisimbi and Bisoke is the Karisoke Research Center, which was founded by Dian Fossey in order to observe the mountain gorillas living in this area. 1908 expedition On February 27, 1908, an expedition led by Egon Von Kirschstein was coming down the Branca Crater when a hailstorm and snowstorm cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Stanley
Mount Stanley or Mount Ngaliema (, also , ) is a mountain located in the Rwenzori range. With an elevation of 5,109 m (16,763 ft), it is the highest mountain of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and the third highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) and Mount Kenya (5,199 m). The peak and several other surrounding peaks are high enough to support glaciers. Mount Stanley is named for the journalist and explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley. It is part of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, a UNESCO world Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h .... Mt. Stanley consists of two twin summits and several lower peaks: :: Expeditions First ascent The first recorded ascent of Mt. Stanley was in 1906 by Luigi Amedeo, J. Petig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afroalpine
The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands. Geography Afromontane communities occur above elevation near the equator, and as low as elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests of South Africa. Afromontane forests are generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands. The Afromontane archipelago mostly follows the East African Rift from the Red Sea to Zimbabwe, with the largest areas in the Ethiopian Highlands, the Albertine Rift Mountains of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania, and the Eastern Arc highlands of Kenya and Tanzania. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rwenzori Mountains
The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated. Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the Nile. Because of this, European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary Mountains of the Moon, claimed by the Greek scholar Ptolemy as the source of the Nile. Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range. Geology The mountains formed about three million years ago in the late Pliocene epoch and are the result of an uplifted block of crystalline rocks including gneiss, amphibolite, granite and quartzite. The Rwenzori mountains are the highest non-volcanic, non-orogenic mountains in the world. This uplift divided the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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