Mount Kahuzi is an extinct volcano in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It is within the

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park The Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border. Established in 1970 by the Belgian photographer and conserv ...

, a

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 ...

Location

Mount Kahuzi was last active at the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

. At it is the highest peak in the Mitumba Range, which runs along the west shore of

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, whic ...

in the

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 Tan ...

. The eastern part of the Biega - Kahuzi National Park, a World Heritage Site, lies on the slopes of the mountain. The Zoological and Forest Reserve of Mount Kahuzi was created by decree on 27 July 1937, and extended in 1951 to include the Biega forest. It was gazetted as a national park in 1970.

Flora

Vegetation includes wet lowland rain forest, transitional rainforest and Afromontaine vegetation that is dominated by tree heathers. Hedythrsus thamnoideus and

Disa erubescens Disa is the heroine of a Swedish legendary saga, which was documented by Olaus Magnus, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes. It was elaborated by Johannes Messenius in his drama ''Disa'', which was th ...

grow on one summit of Mount Kahuzi. On its main summit, between and '' Erica spp.'' grows, as well as '' Senecio kahuzicus'', '' Helichrysum mildbraedii'', '' Huperzia saururus'', and ''

Deschampsia flexuosa ''Deschampsia flexuosa'', commonly known as wavy hair-grass, is a species of bunchgrass in the grass family widely distributed in Eurasia, Africa, South America, and North America. Description Wavy hair-grass, ''Deschampsia flexuosa'', has wiry ...

''.

Fauna

Gorillas are found in the region, including the mountain slopes. In 1993 the population around Mount Kahuzi was estimated to be about 275 individuals. Their population was devastated during the Second Congo War of the late 1990s. The extremely rare Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse has been found on its slopes. Only two specimens have been found, both in the same location in the highly threatened montane forest on Mount Kahuzi at an elevation of around .

References

South Kivu

Kahuzi Mount Kahuzi is an extinct volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is within the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, a World Heritage Site. Location Mount Kahuzi was last active at the end of the Pleistocene. At it is the highest peak in th ...

Great Rift Valley

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