The Heim Glacier used to be a famous spot for the hiker on the Kilimanjaro before it eventually disappeared in the year 1996. This has been the fate for most of the glaciers of the Northern ice field.
Most of them have disappeared and some have shrunk in size some even more than half like the Furtwängler Glacier.
The glaciers were best viewed from the Karanga ValleyThe Karanga Valley of Kilimanjaro Mountain on the southern circuit of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. On the left as the Kersten Glacier that was forming from the southern ice fields.
These glaciers were viewed foe the Barranco camp that is on the right at a elevation of about 3,950 meters above sea level.
On the left were the Balletto glacier and the Diamond glaciers which are above it.
This scenery is no more as the Heim glaciers have been gone for more than 20 years.
In the late 1880s, Meyer made his first study of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. Since then, there have been significant decline in the amount of glacier but surprisingly there have been no conclusive map of the glaciers on the Kilimanjaro Mountain.
Most of the important people use up to date is information put out by Meyers. For example he has photo editions of the area for years, 1891, 1900, 1909. Most of the recent information is from aerial photography and satellites.
The snow cap on the Kilimanjaro usually melts and disappears or it will break away and form a glacier and that why it is referred to as transitory.
Global warming and the Kilimanjaro glaciers
There have been a lot of glaciers that have disappeared in recent history especially those on the northern ice field sector. I the last decade, the size of most glaciers have reduced by almost 80%.
The amount of snow which is the reason the glaciers form has also reduced from the 1912 when studies on this mountain became formal. It is believed that if the glaciers melt at the same rate. We shall have none of them at the summit of the Kilimanjaro by 2030
African Glaciers Melting
There has been a general decrease in the number and size of glacier in Africa. This has been attributed to the effects of global warming. The melting of these glaciers has also cause a lot of flooding especially in Eastern Africa.
How Many Glaciers in Africa?
There are only three countries in Africa that have glacier. It is a unique occurrence since they are not expected to be in the equatorial region. Glacier can be found on mountains Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and the Ruwenzori which are found in Kenya, Tanzania and Kenya Respectively.
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