The Ruwenzori Range, now officially called Rwenzori Mountains (the spelling having been changed in about 1980 to conform more closely with the local tribal name) is a small but spectacular mountain range of central Africa, often referred to as Mt. Rwenzori, located on the border between Uganda and Congo, with heights of up to 5,109 m (16,761 ft). The highest Rwenzoris are permanently snow-capped, and they, along with Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, are the only such in Africa. The Ruwenzoris are often identified with the "Mountains of the Moon" mentioned by Ptolemy, but the descriptions are too vague to make this definite. The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... Kilimanjaro includes the highest peak in Africa. ... Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, and the second-highest in Africa (after Mount Kilimanjaro). ... The Mountains of the Moon or Montes Lunae was a mountain range in central Africa that was long believed to be the source of the White Nile. ... Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ...

The mountains formed as a result of uplift on the flanks of the Albertine (western) Rift of the East African Rift, the African part of the Great Rift Valley. Northern section of the Great Rift Valley. ...

The range is about 120 km (75 mi) long and 65 km (40 mi) wide. It consists of six massifs separated by deep gorges: Mount Baker, Mount Emin, Mount Gessi, Mount Luigi di Savoia, Mount Speke, and Mount Stanley. Mount Stanley is the largest and has several subsidiary summits, with Mount Margherita being the highest point. The rock is metamorphic, and the mountains are believed to have been tilted and squeezed upwards by plate movement. They are in an extremely humid area, and frequently enveloped in clouds. Mount Stanley is the highest mountain in the Ruwenzori Range of Congo and the third highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro (5,895m) and Mount Kenya (5,199m). ...

The Ruwenzori are known for their vegetation, ranging from tropical rainforest through alpine meadows to snow; and for their animal population, including forest elephants, several primate species and many endemic birds. One zone is known for its six metre high heather covered in moss, another for its three metre blue lobelias. Most of the range is now a World Heritage Site and is covered jointly by The Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda and the Parc National des Virunga in Congo. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as tropical rain forests, are a tropical and subtropical biome. ... A meadow is a tract of grassland, either in its natural state or used as pasture or for growing hay. ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Loxodonta cyclotis Matschie, 1900 Until recently, it was thought that the so-called Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) was simply a subspecies of the African Savannah Elephant (Loxodonta africana). ... Families 15, See classification A primate (L. prima, first) is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Heather may be: *In botany, the plant Calluna vulgaris, or, more loosely, various species of the closely related genera Erica and Cassiope, low evergreen shrubs (also called heaths). The term is also used to describe land which is vegetated with these plants; In apparel or textiles, interwoven yarns with a... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Moss gametophyte generation plants with a single sporophyte. ... The Virunga National Park lies in the Virunga Mountains of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcans National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori National Park in Uganda. ...

In 1906 the Rwenzori had 43 named glaciers distributed over 6 mountains with a total area of 7.5 sq. km., about half the total glacier area in Africa. Now (2005) less than half of these survive, on only 3 mountains, with an area of about 1.5 sq.km.

The first European sighting of the Ruwenzori was by the expedition of Henry Morton Stanley in 1889 (the aforementioned clouds are considered to explain why two decades of previous explorers had not seen them). On June 7, the expedition's second-in-command and its military commander, William Stairs, climbed to 10,677 feet, the first non-African ever to climb in the range. The first ascent to the summit was made by the Duke of the Abruzzi in 1906. Sir Henry Morton Stanley (also known as Bula Matari (Breaker of Rocks) in Congo), born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a 19th-century Welsh-born American journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... William Stairs William Grant Stairs (July 1, 1863 – June 9, 1892) was a Canadian explorer, soldier, and adventurer. ... Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco (1873-1933), better known as Duke of the Abruzzi was an italian mountaineer and explorer who made the first ascent of Mount Saint Elias (Alaska-Yukon) in 1897. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

References

• Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa, Williams, Richard S., Jr. [editor] In: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1991, pp.G1-G70
• Guide to the Ruwenzori, Osmaston,H.A., Pasteur,D. 1972, Mountain Club of Uganda. 200 p.
• Tropical Glaciers, Kaser, G., Osmaston, H.A. 2002, Cambridge University Press, UK. 207 p.
• Ruwenzori, de Filippi, F. 1909. Constable, London. [the classic book on the range] 408 p.

External links

• Rwenzori Mountains Historical Climbing and Centenary Celebrations
• Rwenzori Mountains tourist information and tips
• Wild Frontiers page, with info and photos for guided climbs
• Account and photos of a climb up the Ruwenzoris
• The remarkable plants and animals of the Ruwenzoris