Volcanic Activity - Facts On Kilimanjaro's Volcanic Centres
Volcanic Centres > More in this Category > Geography > Historical Geology > National Park Fauna > Low Slope Fauna > High Slope Fauna > Summit Fauna
Volcanic Lake on KilimanjaroVolcanic Activity on Kilimanjaro these days is almost unheard of. Approximately one million years ago, the gentle rolling plains of the Northern regions of present day Tanzania collapsed and sunk to form a basin known as the Kilimanjaro Depression. Around 250,000 and 500,000 years later, a gigantic explosion from three volcanic centres resulted in the formation of the White Mountain, otherwise known as Mount Kilimanjaro.
While two of the Kilimanjaro's impressive volcanic centres, Mawenzi and Shira are both extinct, the youngest cone, Kibo remains merely remains dormant. The last reported eruption on the mountain is thought to have occurred some time in the 1700's, although there are still traces of volcanic activity within the centre to this day.
The three volcanic centres of Kilimanjaro vary in height, with Kibo being the tallest at 5896 metres, and Shira being the shortest at 3962 metres. Mawenzi falls somewhere in the middle at 5149 metres and is also the third highest peak in Africa, preceded only by Kibo and Mount Kenya.
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The actual summits of the three centres vary greatly. Shira's peak is a wide plateau which stretches across the entire width of the volcanic cone. Similarly, Kibo's summit is also a broad crater that has a cavernous pit at its centre. The summit area of Mawezi by contrast is a sheer peak bordered by cliffs and gullies, which makes many portions of it completely unreachable.
The sharp ledges making up Mawenzi are made up of slow- cooling, incredibly durable Rocks that are typically resistant to weathering. By contrast, the Shira plateau has eroded substantially since ancient times, but is nevertheless still filled with interesting minerals, such as the obsidian pebbles that you may encounter on the Machame Route up the mountain.
The Kilimanjaro Experience
