Mount Nyiragongo in the context of "Mount Mikeno"

Internal migration or domestic migration is human migration within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full formal economy of the United States found that the median post-move rise in income was only 1%.

A general trend of rural-to-urban migration, in a process described as urbanisation, has also produced a form of internal migration.

Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. It covers an area of 8,090 km (3,120 sq mi).

Two active volcanoes, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, are located in the park. They have significantly shaped the national park's diverse habitats and wildlife. More than 3,000 faunal and floral species have been recorded, of which more than 300 are endemic to the Albertine Rift including eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) and golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti). The park is also home to Tchegera Island.

Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdom to the north, Rwanda to the east and the Masisi Territory to the west. The city lies in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active volcano Mount Nyiragongo. With an approximate area of 75.72 km (29.24 sq mi), the city had a population of 782,000 people in 2024,with an additional 500,000 displaced people.

Goma is administratively divided into two urban municipalities: Goma and Karisimbi, which are further subdivided into 18 quarters, colloquially recognized as "neighborhoods" in the English lexicon. The city is home to several notable landmarks, including Goma International Airport, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Virunga National Park, the private Christian co-educational school Adventist University of Goma, the University of Goma, and is also surrounded by the active Virunga volcanic range, which includes volcanoes Nyamulagira, Nyiragongo, Mikeno, Visoke, Gahinga, Karisimbi, and Sabinyo. Goma also hosts the annual Amani Festival, the Free University of the Great Lakes Countries, which supports local development initiatives, as well as the regional cultural center and art school, Foyer Culturel de Goma.

The Virunga Mountains (also known as Mufumbiro) are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, in the area where Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda meet. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border the western branch of the East African Rift. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means "volcanoes".

The mountain range consists of eight major volcanoes. Most of them are dormant, except Mount Nyiragongo 3,462 metres (11,358 ft) and Mount Nyamuragira 3,063 metres (10,049 ft), both in the DRC. Recent eruptions occurred in 2006, 2010 and May 2021. Mount Karisimbi is the highest volcano at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft). The oldest mountain is Mount Sabyinyo, which rises 3,634 metres (11,923 ft) above sea level.

Lava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. The term is used to describe both lava lakes that are wholly or partly molten and those that are solidified (sometimes referred to as frozen lava lakes).

Goma International Airport (IATA: GOM, ICAO: FZNA) (French: Aéroport International de Goma), colloquially known by its acronym AIG based on its French name, is the primary international airport serving Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Located in the Karisimbi commune, the airport lies approximately 2 kilometers from Goma's city center, strategically positioned between the active Nyiragongo volcano to the north and the gas-laden Lake Kivu. The airport is situated along the road to Rutshuru and is bordered by Murara, Virunga, and Majengo neighborhoods to the east and west, Mikeno (Birere) to the south, and Majengo to the north.

Mount Karisimbi is a stratovolcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. At 4,507 metres (14,787 ft), 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. Karisimbi is flanked by Mikeno 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 and ranked 61st by prominence.

The name Karisimbi comes from the word 'amasimbi', which means snow in the local Kinyarwanda language. Snow can mostly be found during the dry season in June, July and August on the top of the volcano.

Nyiragongo Territory is a territory in North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering an area of 333 square kilometers, it had a population of 338,966 as of 2022. The territory is bordered to the north by the Bwisha Chiefdom in Rutshuru Territory, to the south by Karisimbi commune in the city of Goma, to the east by Rwanda, and to the west by the Virunga National Park, which separates it from the Bahunde Chiefdom in Masisi Territory.

Established by presidential ordinance on 20 August 1998, with administrative foundations dating back to District Commissioner's Order No. 58 of 22 June 1929, Nyiragongo Territory is composed solely of Bukumu Chiefdom. This chiefdom is further divided into seven groupements, which are subdivided into 58 villages. The territory is historically governed by the Kumu people, but its population is ethnically diverse, including the native Shi, Nande, Hunde and the Congolese Banyarwanda as well as other ethnic groups.