Mount Mikeno

Extinct volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Parent rangeVirunga MountainsGeologyMountain typeStratovolcanoLast eruptionPleistocene

Mount Mikeno is an extinct volcanic mountain located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo section of the Virunga Mountains along with Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke and Mount Sabyinyo. At 4,437 metres (14,557 ft) Mount Mikeno is the second highest peak in the Virunga Mountains after Karisimbi, and the 13th highest in Africa. Mikeno means "poor" and is so named for its harsh slopes which preclude human habitation. [2]

Mount Mikeno lies completely within Virunga National Park and is known for the critically endangered mountain gorillas that live on its slopes.[3] Expeditions to observe Mikeno's gorillas typically leave from the nearby Bukima Patrol Post. [4]

Mount Mikeno is the type locality of the yellow-crested helmetshrike Prionops alberti.[5]

Featured in the movie 'Congo' as where the city of Solomon diamond mine is located.

Notes

  1. ^ "Mount Mikeno" Britannica.com. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  2. ^ Fossey 1983, pp. 40
  3. ^ "About Virunga National Park" Virguna.org. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  4. ^ "Mountain Gorilla Treks" VisitVirguna.org. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  5. ^ Schouteden, Henri (1933). "Un oiseau nouveau trouvi. au sommet du Mikeno". Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines. 24: 211.

References

Fossey, Dian (1983), Gorillas in the Mist, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0-618-08360-X

External links

  • "Mikeno". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 13 September 2016.