Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters), but it isn’t a mountain in a traditional sense. It is a giant stratovolcano that began forming about a million years ago and is composed of many layers of hardened volcanic ash, lava, pumice and tephra — fragmental material that is the fallout from a volcanic eruption.
One of the Seven Summits (the highest peaks on the seven continents), Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania in east Africa. Kilimanjaro lies within the 292-square-mile (756 square kilometers) Kilimanjaro National Park. Kilimanjaro rises from its base approximately 16,732 feet (5,100 meters) from the plains near the Tanzanian municipality of Moshi, making it the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
About 30,000 people climb Kilimanjaro each year and about three-quarters of those reach the summit. It is a relatively safe climb, and most climbers who fail to summit experience altitude-related issues or harsh weather near the peak. Temperatures at the peak can be 0 degrees F (minus 18 C), and if the winds are blowing, the wind chills reach dangerous levels.
Picture Credit : Google
