Mount Karisimbi is an active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...

in the Virunga Mountains on the border between

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and the

Democratic Republic of 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 ...

. At , Karisimbi is the highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is a part of

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 western branch of the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of ...

. Karisimbi is flanked by Mikeno to the north, Bisoke to the east and

Nyiragongo Mount Nyiragongo ( ) is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about north of the town of ...

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 Kinyarwanda, Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda, is a Bantu language and a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda (where ther ...

, 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 The Karisoke Research Center is a research institute in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. It was founded by Dian Fossey on 24 September 1967 to study endangered mountain gorillas. Fossey located the camp in Rwanda's Virunga volcanic mountain ran ...

Research Center, which was founded by

Dian Fossey Dian Fossey (, January 16, 1932 – ) was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her murder in 1985. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of R ...

in order to observe the

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Centra ...

s 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 caused twenty of the expedition's porters to perish.The Barre Daily Times June 13, 1908, 20 men frozen to death
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Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karisimbi Stratovolcanoes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Virunga Mountains Stratovolcanoes of Rwanda Mountains of Rwanda Mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Inactive volcanoes Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda border International mountains of Africa Highest points of countries Four-thousanders of Africa

1908 expedition

See also

Notes

References