Kilimanjaro << `kihl` uh muhn JAHR oh >> is Africa’s highest mountain. It is in northern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya. Kilimanjaro has two summits. Kibo summit measures 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) high at Uhuru Peak, its highest point. Kibo’s top is always covered by snow and ice even though it is near the equator. The other summit, Mawenzi (also spelled Mawensi), stands 16,890 feet (5,148 meters) high and has no snow or ice. Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano, one of a string of volcanic cones formed at the same time as the rift valleys of East Africa.
Rich soils and heavy rainfall make the slopes of Kilimanjaro good for agriculture. Along the lower slopes, farmers raise bananas and coffee. They channel water from the highlands to the fertile, drier lower slopes. Kilimanjaro is a popular tourist attraction. It is surrounded by wildlife parks in Tanzania and Kenya.
In the late 1800’s, the United Kingdom gained control of what is now Kenya, and Germany took over the Tanzanian mainland. The Anglo-German agreement of 1886 established part of the boundary between these two territories at Kilimanjaro.
