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RUWENZORI

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 947 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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RUWENZORI , more correctly Runsoro, said to be known also as Kokora, a See also:

MOUNTAIN (0. Fr. montaigne; popular Lat. montanea, an adjectival form from the classical mons, montis, whence Eng. " mount," a form usually used along with the name of an individual mountain, e.g. Mt Everest)
MOUNTAIN, THE (La Montagne)

mountain range in Central See also:

Africa, lying just See also:

north of the See also:

EQUATOR (Late Lat. aequator, from aequare, to make equal)

equator, and intersected near its eastern edge by 300 E. It has a length of about 65 m., with a maximum breadth of about 30 m., and its highest peaks rise above the limits of perpetual See also:

SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow.' The range as a whole, the See also:

major See also:

AXIS (Lat. for " axle ")

axis of which runs a little See also:

east of north, falls steeply on the See also:

west to the Central See also:

AFRICAN

African rift-valley traversed by the Semliki, the western See also:

head-stream of the See also:

Nile, while on the east the fall is somewhat more See also:

GRADUAL (Med. Lat. gradualis, of or belonging to steps or degrees; gradus, step)

gradual towards the See also:

HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands of western See also:

UGANDA

Uganda. The upper parts are separated by fairly See also:

low passes into six See also:

groups of snowy summits, lying a little to the west of the central See also:

LINE

line, rising in each See also:

case more than 15,000 ft. above the See also:

sea and reaching, in the culminating point of the western See also:

GROUP

group (See also:

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Mount See also:

Stanley), about 16,800 ft. The origin of the range seems connected with that .of the rift-valley on the west, both being due to See also:

VERTICAL (from Lat. vertex, highest point)

vertical displacements of the See also:

earth's crust. Ruwenzori has been formed by an upheaval en masse of a portion of the archaean See also:

FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor of the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent, bounded east and west by lines of fracture, but resulting in a See also:

general See also:

DIP (Old Eng. dyppan, connected with the common Teutonic root seen in " deep ")

dip from west to east. A further upheaval seems to have produced an ellipsoidal anticline, causing the strata to dip outwards at a generally high See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle. Traces of volcanic See also:

ACTION

action are almost non-existent. Composed in its See also:

OUTER

outer parts of gneisses and See also:

MICA

mica-See also:

SCHISTS (Gr. vxq'ecv, to split)

schists offering no See also:

GREAT

great resistance to denudation, in its centre the range consists of much more refractory rocks (amphibolites, diorites, diabases, &c.), to which fact, coupled with the existence of vertical fractures, the persistence and separation of the higher summits is probably due. The snow-clad See also:

AREA

area does not now extend more than ten See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles in any direction, though there is abundant See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence that the glaciers were formerly far more extensive. The upper region is almost entirely enveloped by See also:

day in thick See also:

CLOUD (from the same root, if not the same word, as " clod," a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages for a mass or lump; it is first applied in the usual sense in the late 13th century; the Anglo-Saxon chid is only used in the sense of " a ma

cloud, which descends on the east to about 9000 ft., and See also:

LOWER

lower still on the west. It sometimes lifts towards evening, giving a sight of the snowy peaks, but by 9 a.m. these have The later Viscounts See also:

GALWAY

Galway are descended from See also:

John Monckton (1695-1751), who was created See also:

VISCOUNT (through O. Fr. viscomte, mod. vicomte, from Low Lat. vice-comes, cf. Portug. visconde, Ital. visconte)

viscount in 1727. His first wife's See also:

MOTHER

mother, wife of the and See also:

DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

duke of See also:

Rutland, was a daughter of See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

Lady See also:

William See also:

Russell, and thus a connexion of the Ruvignys.

once more been hidden. As a result, the See also:

CLIMATE

climate is very humid, the rainfall being probably at least too in. annually, and the slopes are furrowed by numberless streams, the most important fed by the glaciers of the upper region, and afterwards flowing in deeply cut valleys between the outer spurs. From the innermost recesses between Mounts Stanley, See also:

Speke and See also:

Baker, the See also:

main branches of the Mobuku descend to the east, while the four See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal streams on the west unite to See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the Butagu, the drainage on both sides ultimately finding its way to the Semliki, either directly or through See also:

Lake Dweru and the See also:

Albert See also:

EDWARD

Edward See also:

NYANZA (from the ancient Bantu root word anza, a river or lake)

Nyanza. As in other ranges of Central Africa the vegetation displays well-marked zones, varying with the See also:

ALTITUDE (Lat. altitudo, from altus, high)

altitude; but owing to the lower level to which the cloud descends on the west (probably an outcome of the general See also:

CLIMATIC

climatic regime of Central Africa, as the range lies between the east African See also:

plateau and the relatively low-lying See also:

basin of the See also:

CONGO

Congo), the limits of the several zones reach a lower level on the west than on the east. They have been defined as follows by Mr R. B. Woosnam of the See also:

BRITISH

British Museum scientific expedition of 1906—7: Zones. Upper Limits (East See also:

Side). Grass . 6,5oo ft. See also:

FOREST

Forest . 8,500 „ Bamboos .

Io,000 „ See also:

Tree heaths . . 12,500 „ Lobelias and Senecios . 14,500 „ above which is the See also:

SUMMIT

summit region of snow and See also:

BARE

bare See also:

rock. The boundaries between the zones are not of course hard and fast lines, but merely indicate the levels between which the respective forms are specially characteristic, though they occur also in higher or lower zones. The forest See also:

ZONE (Gr. 'WV77, a girdle, from 'wvvLvay to gird)

zone is perhaps the best marked, being visible from a distance as a dark See also:

RING (O.E. hring; a word common to Teutonic languages; and probably cognate with the Lat. circus, Gr. KtpKOS or KpLKOS, Skt'. chakra, wheel, circle, cf. also " harangue "); in art, a band of circular shape of varying sizes, made of any material and used f

ring. On the west it merges in See also:

PART

part with the low-lying forest of the Semliki valley. Owing to the abundance of moisture, mosses, hepaticae and See also:

LICHENS

lichens are prevalent in several of the zones, and bogs, with Vaccinium and other low-growing See also:

PLANTS

plants, are See also:

COMMON

common above the forest zone. Helichrysums are abundant in the zone immediately below the snow, where they form large bushes. The larger mammals are found chiefly on the lower slopes, but See also:

BUSHBUCK (Boschbok)

bushbuck, pigs, leopards, monkeys, a hyrax and a See also:

SERVAL (Felis serval)

serval See also:

cat occur at higher altitudes. The birds include kites, buzzards, ravens, See also:

sun-birds, touracos, a large See also:

swift, and various warblers and other small kinds. The upper limit of human See also:

settlement, with cultivation of colocasia and beans, has been placed at 67oo ft. Attempts have been made to identify the range with the " Mountains of the See also:

Moon " of See also:

PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMAEUS)

Ptolemy and other See also:

ancient writers, the snows of which were thought to feed the Nile lakes.

But in view of the extreme vagueness of the statements and the See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of all detailed knowledge of the See also:

GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

geography, it is far more likely that the rumours of snowy mountains really referred to Mounts See also:

KENYA

Kenya and See also:

KILIMANJARO

Kilimanjaro, especially as they seem to have been obtained rather from the east See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast than from the direction of the Nile. In See also:

MODERN

modern times the existence of a snowy range in this part of Africa was first made known by See also:

Sir See also:

Henry Stanley during the Emin See also:

PASHA

Pasha See also:

RELIEF

relief expedition of 1887–89, though hints of high mountains had been obtained by Stanley himself and by Romolo Gessi in 1876 and by others from the neighbourhood of the Albert Nyanza. Stanley named the main See also:

mass Ruwenzori, and outlying eastern peaks he called Mt. See also:

Gordon See also:

Bennett, Mt. See also:

Lawson, Mt. See also:

Edwin See also:

Arnold, &c.—the last named lying N.E. of Lake Dweru. Subsequently Stanley's own name was given to the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief summit. One of Stanley's See also:

OFFICERS

officers, Lieut. Stairs, ascended the western slopes to over Io,000 ft. in 1889, and partial ascents were after-wards made by Dr Stuhlmann, Mr See also:

Scott Elliot, Mr J. E. See also:

Moore, Sir Harry See also:

Johnston, Mr See also:

Douglas Freshfield, and others. See also:

Early in 1906 some of the secondary ridges above the snow-line were scaled by Messrs Grauer, Tegart and Maddox, and by Dr See also:

Wollaston and other members of the British Museum expedition, while later in the See also:

YEAR

year the duke of the Abruzzi led a well-equipped expedition, including various scientists, tothe upper parts of the range, and with the help of trained Alpine guides ascended not only the culminating twin summits (which he named Margharita and.Alexandra after the queens of See also:

Italy and See also:

England), but all the principal snow-clad peaks.

The expedition produced for the first See also:

time a detailed See also:

map of the upper region, and threw much See also:

LIGHT

light on the See also:

GEOLOGY (from Gr. yp7, the earth, and Abyor, science)

geology and natural See also:

HISTORY

history of the range. ; F. Stuhlmann, Mit Emin Pasha ins Herz von Afrika (See also:

Berlin; 1894 i G. F. Scott-Elliot, A Naturalist in See also:

Mid-Africa (See also:

LONDON

London, 1896) ; J. E. S. Moore, "See also:

TANGANYIKA (a name said by V. L. Cameron to signify a " mixing-place ")

Tanganyika," &c., Geog. Jnl. (See also:

JANUARY

January 1901); To the Mountains of the Moon (London, 1901) ; Sir H. H. Johnston, The Uganda See also:

PROTECTORATE

Protectorate (London, 1902); The Duke of the Abruzzi, in Geog.

Jnl. (See also:

FEBRUARY

February 19o7); R. B. Woosnam, ibid. (See also:

DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December 19o7) ; F. de Filippi, Ruwenzori (London, 1908), the general See also:

account of the Abruzzi expedition, and Il Ruwenzori, Parte Scientiftca (2 vols., See also:

Milan, 1909) ; A. R. F. Wollaston, From Ruwenzori to the Congo (London, 19o8) ; R. G. T. See also:

Bright, " The Uganda-Congo Bounda , Geog. Jnl.

1909). (E. HE.) .

End of Article: RUWENZORI

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