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WONDERS OF NATURE
Mount Kilimanjaro. Nature miracle
Most of the highest mountains in the world are located in the mighty ranges of mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps, the Cordillera, the Tien Shan or the Karakorum. And only the highest peak of Africa - Kilimanjaro - rises among the endless plains of Tanzania completely lonely, like a giant who accidentally wandered into the country of midgets.
The huge massif of Kilimanjaro, oval in plan, reaches a hundred kilometers in length and sixty in width. In its center, three peaks rise to the clouds: Shira (4006 meters), Mawenzi (5355 meters) and Kilimanjaro proper, or Kibo (5895 meters). These are three ancient, fused volcanoes, of which only Kibo is currently showing signs of activity. At its top is a huge crater with a diameter of two kilometers and a depth of two hundred meters. At the bottom of it rises another lava cone with a round crater, reaching eight hundred meters in diameter. From it in several places jets of suffocating volcanic gases beat. In the Swahili language common in East Africa, the name of the mountain means "Sparkling". Indeed, early in the morning and in the evening, when Kibo is not shrouded in clouds, his snow cap sparkles in the rays of the sun like polished silver. In ancient times, they say, local tribes believed that the peak really consisted of precious metal. They can be understood: after all, they have never seen snow and ice. But none of the inhabitants dared to gather on Kilimanjaro and test their guess: according to legend, the slopes of the mountain were the abode of evil spirits who would severely punish anyone who disturbed their peace. True, they say that one local leader nevertheless sent his soldiers to the top of Kibo to get silver, but it melted in their hands. The warriors returned to the leader with nothing. Only the cold realm of ice they found on Kilimanjaro. So the second name of the huge volcano was born - "The abode of the god of cold." In the bluish haze of hot African air, the lower part of the mountain is almost indistinguishable against the blue sky, and it seems that the snow-covered cap of Kilimanjaro soars above the plain among other similar white clouds. During the hours when the mountain is free from clouds, it is impossible to take your eyes off the high truncated cone of Kibo, proudly rising against the backdrop of the verdant equatorial forests. The peoples living at the foot of Kilimanjaro have always considered her sacred and worshiped her as the goddess of joy and prosperity. After all, the rivers and streams running down its slopes gave life to their fields and pastures, and the clouds that surrounded the peak poured down on the earth as blessed rain. The giant mountain range stands as a barrier to the moist winds blowing from the Indian Ocean, and they leave most of their moisture on its slopes in the form of rain and snow. Therefore, the vegetation in the Kilimanjaro region is very different from the flora of the surrounding plains. At the foot of the massif there are vast savannahs, overgrown with grass and rare umbrella acacias. Above, where the waters of melting glaciers flow down the gorges, there are coffee and banana plantations. This is the most populated part of the entire region. And starting from a height of 1800 meters, Kilimanjaro is surrounded by a dense and lush green thicket of humid equatorial forests. Here, in a strip that rises to a mark of three thousand meters, every evening the uniform air flowing down from the top and the warm air rising from the valley invariably collide. As a result, at this level, a belt of clouds and fogs is formed daily, pouring heavy rains onto the slopes. Perhaps only in the Congo basin you can still see such virgin, almost impenetrable forests, a real riot of tall grasses and giant mossy tree trunks intertwined with lianas. The foliage blocks the sunlight, and undisturbed exotic animals - from monkeys and leopards to mighty elephants - feel great under this green canopy. Even higher stretches a zone of mountain meadows with bright flowers and amazing tree-like plants growing to enormous sizes - senets. Above the ground, their trunk is divided into two thick branches, resembling giant candelabra. The tops of the senetsia end in a fan of thickened fleshy leaves, fluffy below and glossy light green above. Pyramidal inflorescences strewn with bright pink flowers soar up a meter from bunches of leaves. Another, also unusual inhabitant of mountain meadows - lobelia - stretches up in a column, reaching four and a half meters in height, and ends with a candle-shaped brush of blue flowers. Only here, on Kilimanjaro, and even in the Rwenzori mountains located to the north, do these usually small flowering plants acquire such a gigantic appearance. After the mark of four thousand meters, the meadows are replaced by a zone of alpine lichens and mosses, and at the very top only stone and ice already reign. Even at the end of the XNUMXth century, scientists did not believe that here, three degrees from the equator, glaciers could be found. Even the great geographer Humboldt expressed doubts about this. Meanwhile, attempts to climb Kilimanjaro remained unsuccessful for a long time. For almost thirty years, not a single daredevil could conquer the summit. Only in 1889 did the German geographer and mountaineer Hans Mayer manage to climb Kibo. Even longer, until 1912, the rocky jagged bulk of Mawenzi resisted the climbers. After that, the existence of a large group of glaciers in the Kilimanjaro massif became a scientific fact. But even a hundred years after Mayer's ascent, the spectacle of ice heaps near the equator continues to amaze everyone who has risen to the crater of the highest African volcano. Here is what the Czech travelers Hanzelka and Zikmund, who have already visited Kilimanjaro today, write about this: “The wind calmed down a little, and when we descended a few tens of meters into the depths of the crater, it stopped completely. A gigantic wall of ice rose from the left side and sparkled in the sun. The azure blue of the sky was perfectly clear; only silvery clouds floated around Kibo, breaking on its edges. An amazing picture opened up under the feet in the Shubin crater. Two high ice pylons protruded above the surface of a wonderful oval lake. The ice surface of the lake cracked, fragments of ice scattered over the entire surface, and bizarre ice stalactites and stalagmites were reflected in a piece of the cleared water surface. The walls sparkled with emeralds, and sometimes with their turquoise blue they resembled alpine lakes. Framed on all sides by powerful cascades of ice, the crater resembled a frozen waterfall. A continuous wreath of ice stretched along the northern edge in the form of a huge, many-storied organ. Silver tubes of stalactites, seemingly endless, stretched one above the other to a height of two hundred meters or more. Drops of crystal clear water flowed down the stalactites and made you want to press your lips to them..." In addition to Kilimanjaro, there are glaciers in Africa only on the second highest mountain on the continent, Mount Kenya and in the Rwenzori mountains. The global warming of the climate on our planet has led to the fact that all of them are gradually decreasing in size. According to scientists, by 2200 Kilimanjaro may lose its snow-white cap. Frankly, I really do not want to believe the scientists. Just try to imagine what would happen if their sad prediction came true. Glaciers will disappear - streams and rivers will dry up. Streams will fall silent - forests and meadows will wither. There will be no forests and pastures - people will leave ... But the unique landscape of the greatest peak of Africa, which for so many centuries has served as a theme for fairy tales and legends, songs and admiring descriptions, has rightfully become one of the priceless natural treasures of the planet. And the loss of even one of the sparkling gems that make up the precious necklace of the Earth will deprive humanity of another particle of beauty, a particle of magical charm and pleasure that communion with nature brings us. Author: B.Wagner
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