Page 58 - Volcano and Geothermal Tourism

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Africa’s Great Volcanoes of the

Albertine Rift Valley

Alfred Kazadi Sanga-Ngoie Virunga National Park
The Albertine Rift Valley is the western branch of
Introduction the Great Rift Valley, the 6000km-long tectonic
The Virunga National Park (VNP) (0°55´N, fault stretching from Lebanon (Middle East)
1°35´S and 29°10´E, 30°00´E) is that spectacular through the Red Sea and the Ethiopian highlands
blend of vast grasslands, high plateaus and towering to Malawi, along which the African continent is
high mountains and peaks, many of them covered being torn apart (Figure 2.1). The Albertine Rift
with eternal snowcaps or rumbling with volcanic Valley is the locus of the following African Great
activities, that surrounds the northern part of the Lakes: Albert, Rutanzige (ex-Edward), Kivu and
Albertine Rift Valley from just south of Lake Tanganyika. Two big mountain ranges stand like
Albert in the north to the scenic city of Goma on huge stumbling blocks across the northern part of
the northernmost tip of Lake Kivu in the south. this rift valley: the Ruwenzori between Lake
All this dreamland, entirely located within Albert and Lake Rutanzige, and the Virunga
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between Lake Rutanzige and Lake Kivu. The
territory, stretches about 500km along the latter range is the natural divide between two
country’s north-eastern border with Rwanda and great river basins: the River Nile (6700km) and
Uganda (Diallo, 1975; Tazieff, 1979; Charlier, the Congo River (4700km). Lakes Albert and
1998; Stuart and Stuart, 1995). Rutanzige are part of the River Nile basin, while
Here, a very mild climate that is temperate Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika are within the Congo
throughout the year offers to the visitor, and to River Basin (Diallo, 1975; Boaz et al, 1992;
the local people alike, a very comfortable Charlier, 1998; Saundry, 2009).
environment characterized by large an exceptionally Lake Rutanzige is fed by some big streams, the
rich and diverse flora and fauna. This is also the Rutshuru River being one of them, flowing from
land targeted by large numbers of explorers for the highlands in the south. This river is also
millennia. Since Greco-Roman times, this considered to be the highest ‘source of the Nile’ as
mountain range was known as the ‘Lunaes Montes: compared to the Ruvubu River in Burundi, the
Mountains of the Moon’, where the source of the southernmost ‘source of the Nile’ (Diallo, 1975).
River Nile was supposed to be found, or, since Lake Rutanzige waters drain into Lake Albert
European colonial times as a wildlife sanctuary of through the Semliki River. The Uganda Nile
exceptional beauty and rich biodiversity, that had flowing from Lake Victoria enters into Lake Albert
been, and still is, attracting thousands of scientists, through a broad delta located at the lake’s northern
tourists, naturalists, sportsmen (mountain climbing) end, just close to the exit of what is called the
and adventurers from all over the world. White Nile. This river flows northward on its

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