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 per ...

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. 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 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 a ...

. Karisimbi is flanked by

Mikeno Mount Mikeno is an extinct volcanic mountain located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo section of the Virunga Mountains along with Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke and Mount Sabyinyo. At Mount Mikeno is ...

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 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 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 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