The Rwenzori (also known as the Ruwenzori, Rwenzururu or Rwenjura) are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches 5,109 metres (16,762 ft), and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated. Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the Nile. Because of this, European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary Mountains of the Moon, claimed by the Greek scholar Ptolemy as the source of the Nile. Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range.
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👉 Rwenzori Mountains in the context of European exploration of Africa
The geography of North Africa has been reasonably well known among Europeans since classical antiquity in Greco-Roman geography. Northwest Africa (the Maghreb) was known as either Libya or Africa, while Egypt was considered part of Asia.
European exploration of sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, pioneered by the Kingdom of Portugal under Henry the Navigator. The Cape of Good Hope was first reached by Bartolomeu Dias on 12 March 1488, opening the important sea route to India and the Far East, but European exploration of Africa itself remained very limited during the 16th and 17th centuries. The European powers were content to establish trading posts along the coast while they were actively exploring and colonizing the New World. Exploration of the interior of Africa was thus mostly left to the Muslim slave traders, who in tandem with the Muslim conquest of Sudan established far-reaching networks and supported the economy of a number of Sahelian kingdoms during the 15th to 18th centuries.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Rwenzori Mountains
- 👉 Rwenzori Mountains in the context of European exploration of Africa
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Mountains of the Moon (Africa)
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Montane grasslands and shrublands
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Mire
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Virunga National Park
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Rwenzori Mountains National Park
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of North Kivu
- Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Albertine Rift
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Mountains of the Moon (Africa)
The Mountains of the Moon (Latin: Montes Lunae; Arabic: جبال القمر, Jibālu al-Qamar or Jibbel el Kumri) are a legendary mountain or mountain range in east Africa at the source of the Nile River. Various identifications have been made in modern times, the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo being the most celebrated.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The term montane in the name of the biome refers to high elevation, rather than the ecological term that denotes the region below the treeline. The biome includes high-elevation (montane and alpine) grasslands and shrublands around the world, including the puna and páramo in South America, subalpine heath in New Guinea and East Africa, steppes of the Tibetan plateaus, and other similar subalpine habitats.Drier subtropical montane grasslands, savannas, and woodlands include the Ethiopian Highlands, the Zambezian montane grasslands and woodlands, and the montane habitats of southeastern Africa.
The páramos of the northern Andes are the most extensive examples of the habitat type. Although ecoregion biotas are most diverse in the Andes, these ecosystems are distinctive wherever they occur in the tropics. The heathlands and moorlands of East Africa (e.g., Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Rwenzori Mountains), Mount Kinabalu of Borneo, and the Central Range of New Guinea are all limited in extent, isolated, and support endemic plants and animals.The plants and animals of tropical montane páramos display striking adaptations to cool, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Around the world, characteristic plants of these habitats display features such as rosette structures, waxy surfaces, and abundant pilosity.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Mire
A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. Peatlands are unusual landforms that derive mostly from biological rather than physical processes, and can take on characteristic shapes and surface patterning.
The formation of peatlands is primarily controlled by climatic conditions such as precipitation and temperature, although terrain relief is a major factor as waterlogging occurs more easily on flatter ground and in basins. Peat formation typically initiates as a paludification of a mineral soil forest, terrestrialisation of lakes, or primary peat formation on bare soils on previously glaciated areas. A peatland that is actively forming peat is called a mire. All types of mires share the common characteristic of being saturated with water, at least seasonally with actively forming peat, while having their own ecosystem.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Virunga National Park
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.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of Rwenzori Mountains National Park
Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost 1,000 km (386 sq mi) in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park is known for its beautiful plant life.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context of North Kivu
North Kivu (Swahili: Jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 8,985,711 as of 2020, it is bordered by Ituri Province to the north, Tshopo Province to the northwest, Maniema Province to the southwest, and South Kivu Province to the south, as well as Uganda and Rwanda to the east.
North Kivu's administrative history traces back to the colonial era when it was initially part of the Stanley Falls District within the Congo Free State. Following a series of territorial reorganizations, North Kivu became incorporated into Orientale Province, with Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) as the provincial capital. The area gained provincial status in 1962 but was demoted to a district under Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in 1965. It was formally reinstated in 1988 under Ordinance-Law No. 88/1976 and Ordinance-Law No. 88-031, which redefined the previous Kivu Province into tripartite separate provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema. Presently, North Kivu comprises three cities—Goma, Butembo, and Beni—and six territories: Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru, Nyiragongo, and Walikale. A 2013 decree also proposed city status for Kasindi, Oicha, and Luholu. The province's eastern border is home to the Rwenzori Mountains, part of the Albertine Rift, which serves as a key freshwater source and supports a diverse ecosystem. North Kivu also hosts Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to endangered mountain gorillas.
Rwenzori Mountains in the context 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 Tanganyika.The geographical term includes the valley and the surrounding mountains.