Africa, specifically

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, has contained

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

regions, possibly as far back as the

last glacial maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

10,000 to 15,000 years ago. Seasonal snow does exist on the highest peaks of East Africa as well as in the

Drakensberg Range The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...

of South Africa, the

Stormberg Mountains The Stormberg is a range of mountains situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, are an easterly extension of the Bamboesberge and form an outlier of the greater Drakensberg mountain range. They form part of the ' Amatola and Stormberg ...

, and the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

in Morocco. Currently, the only remaining glaciers on the continent exist on

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

, and the

Rwenzori 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' ...

List of glaciers

Kenya

(All located on the upper slopes of

) *Mr. Ali Cesar Glacier *Diamond Glacier *Darwin Glacier (Kenya) *Forel Glacier *Gregory Glacier *Heim Glacier *Josef Glacier *Kraph Glacier *Lewis Glacier *Northey Glacier *Tyndall Glacier

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' ...

*Speke Glacier *Elena *Stanley *Baker

Tanzania

All Tanzanian glaciers are located on the summit of

. The mountain had 16 named glaciers and three icefields in the middle of the 20th century but by the 1990s, at least 4 glaciers had disappeared and the remaining glaciers had retreated. * Arrow Glacier (a remnant of the formerly named Little Barranco Glacier) * Balletto Glacier * Barranco Glacier (formerly known as Great Barranco Glacier) *

Credner Glacier Credner Glacier is on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the northwest slope of the peak and is a remnant of an icecap which once crowned the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The glacier is situated at an elevation of between . Credner Glacier is one of ...

*Decken Glacier *Gold Glacier * Drygalski Glacier (vanished) *Eastern Ice Field (Mount Kilimanjaro) *

Furtwängler Glacier Furtwangler Glacier is located near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The glacier is named after who, with Siegfried König, formed the fourth party to ascend to the summit of Kilimanjaro in 1912. The glacier is a small remnant of an i ...

* Great Barranco Glacier (now known as Barranco Glacier) *

Great Penck Glacier Great Penck Glacier was on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. Extending from the Northern Ice Field, the glacier once flowed , to an elevation of . Between the years 1962 and 1975, Great Penck Glacier separated from the ...

(vanished) *Heim Glacier *Kersten Glacier * Little Barranco Glacier (vanished, small remnant later named Arrow Glacier) *

Little Penck Glacier Little Penck Glacier is on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. Once extending from the Northern Ice Field, the glacier detached from the icefield by 1992. A sizeable but stagnant ice body remains near the 1912 historical ...

Northern Ice Field (Mount Kilimanjaro) The Northern Ice Field is near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. The Northern Ice Field and Eastern Ice Fields were connected to the Southern Ice Field and formed part of a continuous body of glacial ice ...

*Ratzel Glacier *

Rebmann Glacier The Rebmann Glacier is an active glacier located near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It is a small remnant of an enormous ice cap which once crowned Kilimanjaro. This ice cap has retreated significantly over the past century; between ...

*Southern Ice Field (Mount Kilimanjaro) *Uhlig Glacier (vanished)

External links

*http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/03/melting-glaciers-rwenzori-uganda-congo *http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080325-africa-glaciers.html

References

{{Reflist, 2

Glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...