Mount Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, "Kibo", "Mawenzi", and "Shira", is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa, about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) from its base to 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level. When standing on the summit you are on the roof of Africa.
Kilimanjaro is a large stratovolcano and is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo, the highest; Mawenzi at 5,149 metres (16,893 ft) and Shira, the shortest at 4,005 metres (13,140 ft) Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, while Kibo is dormant and could erupt again
The origin of the name "Kilimanjaro" is not precisely known, but a number of theories exist. European explorers had adopted the name by 1860 and reported that "Kilimanjaro" was the mountain's Kiswahili name. The 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia also records the name of the mountain as "Kilima-Njaro"
Natural forests cover about 1,000 square kilometres (250,000 acres) on Kilimanjaro. In the foothill area maize, beans, and sunflowers (on the western side also wheat) are cultivated. Remnants of the former savanna vegetation with Acacia, Combretum, Terminalia and Grewia also occur. Between 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), coffee also appears as part of the "Chagga home gardens" agroforestry. Native vegetation at this altitude range is limited to inaccessible valleys and gorges and is completely different from vegetation at higher altitudes.