Mount Kahuzi is an extinct volcano in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. It is within the

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (, ) is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda border, Rwandan border. His ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Location

Mount Kahuzi was last active at the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

. At it is the highest peak in the Mitumba Range, which runs along the west shore of

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...

in the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

. The eastern part of the Biega - Kahuzi National Park, a World Heritage Site, lies on the slopes of the mountain. The Zoological and Forest Reserve of Mount Kahuzi was created by decree on 27 July 1937, and extended in 1951 to include the Biega forest. It was gazetted as a national park in 1970.

Flora

Vegetation includes wet lowland rain forest, transitional rainforest and Afromontaine vegetation that is dominated by tree heathers. Hedythrsus thamnoideus and Disa erubescens grow on one summit of Mount Kahuzi. On its main summit, between and '' Erica spp.'' grows, as well as '' Senecio kahuzicus'', '' Helichrysum mildbraedii'', '' Huperzia saururus'', and '' Deschampsia flexuosa''.

Fauna

Gorillas are found in the region, including the mountain slopes. In 1993 the population around Mount Kahuzi was estimated to be about 275 individuals. Their population was devastated during the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

of the late 1990s. The extremely rare

Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse The Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse (''Dendromus kahuziensis'') is a rodent found only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, ...

has been found on its slopes. Only two specimens have been found, both in the same location in the highly threatened montane forest on Mount Kahuzi at an elevation of around .

References

South Kivu

Kahuzi Mount Kahuzi is an extinct volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is within the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, a World Heritage Site. Location Mount Kahuzi was last active at the end of the Pleistocene. At it is the highest peak in th ...

Great Rift Valley

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