__NOTOC__ Mount Meru is a dormant

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and pe ...

located west of

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

in southeast

Arusha Region Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern br ...

, Tanzania. At a height of , it is visible from Mount Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the fifth-highest of the

highest mountain peaks of Africa This is a list of the highest mountain peaks of Africa. It aims to include the highest mountain peaks with a prominence of at least 500 m. Some regions are still poorly described and the list is likely to be both incomplete and not completely ac ...

, dependent on definition. Mount Meru is located just north of the city of

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern b ...

, in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. It is the second-highest mountain in Tanzania, after

. Mount Meru is also the highest mountain/point in Arusha Region. The Momella route – which starts at Momella gate, on the eastern side of the mountain – is used to climb Mount Meru. Much of its bulk was lost about 7,800 years ago due to a summit collapse. Mount Meru most recently had a minor eruption in 1910. The several small cones and craters seen in the vicinity probably reflect numerous episodes of volcanic activity. Mount Meru's

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber i ...

is wide. Mount Meru is the topographic centerpiece of

Arusha National Park Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4566 m, in the Arusha Region of north eastern Tanzania. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crate ...

. Its fertile slopes rise above the surrounding

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and support a forest that hosts diverse

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...

, including nearly 400 species of birds, and also

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s. The movie '' Hatari!'' was filmed at the foot of Mountain Meru.

Gallery

Mont Méru vue sur Ash Cone.JPG, The ash cone. Look at Mt. Meru Arusha Tanzania.jpg, Mount Meru in the background with

in the foreground of the picture. Little Meru Peak 3,820 metres.jpg, The Little Meru Peak (3,820 m). Volcan Mont Méru socialist peak.JPG, The Socialist Peak (4,562 m). File:A stream from Mt Meru.jpg, A stream from Mount Meru. mount_meru_topography.jpg, The topography of Mount Meru. mount_meru_sat_photo.jpg, Mount Meru and the Ngurdoto Crater (image top) from space. Sunrise on Mt Kili from the summit of Mt Meru in 2006.jpeg , The sunrise on

which is from the summit of Mount Meru. File:Kibo-großer Gletscher(big glacier).jpg, left, The summit of Mount Meru seen from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

References

External links

*
Mount Meru Climb Information

trekkingvisions
Information about the Mount Meru Trek {{DEFAULTSORT:Meru, Mount East African montane forests Mountains of Tanzania Stratovolcanoes of Tanzania Active volcanoes Geography of Arusha Region Four-thousanders of Africa

Gallery

See also

References

External links