Karisimbi
Rwanda's highest peak and the tallest of the Virungas at 4,507 m, snow-dusted in the dry season.
- Elevation
- 4,507 m
- Prominence
- 3,312 m
- Summit
- 1°30′S 29°27′E
- Range
- Virunga massif
- Geology
- Stratovolcano
- Volcanic status
- Dormant
- Crater lake
- None
Karisimbi is the highest mountain in Rwanda and the highest of the eight Virunga volcanoes, rising to 4,507 m (14,787 ft) on the Rwanda-Democratic Republic of Congo border. It ranks as the 11th highest mountain in Africa and belongs to the western branch of the Albertine Rift within the East African Rift system.
The name comes from the Kinyarwanda amasimbi ("snow"): a white cap settles on the summit during the dry season of June, July and August. The volcano sits between Mikeno to the north, Bisoke to the east and Nyiragongo to the west. On the saddle between Karisimbi and Bisoke lies the Karisoke Research Center, founded by primatologist Dian Fossey to study the region's mountain gorillas.