Location
The mountains are located in central Africa on the border between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. The range is about 120 km long and 65 km wide. It consists of the following main six peaks separated by deep gorges:
- Mount Stanley (5,109m),
- Mount Speke (4,890m),
- Mount Baker (4,843m),
- Mount Emin (4,798m),
- Mount Gessi (4,715m)
- Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627m)
Mount Stanley is the largest of the peaks and has several subsidiary summits, with Margherita Peak being the highest point. The mountains are sometimes referred to as the mountains of the moon.
Vegetation
Vegetation zones in ascending order in accordance to altitudes are as follows:
- Grassland
- Montane forest
- Bamboo
- Heather
- Fro-alpine moorland.
At higher altitudes some plants reach an unusually large size, such as lobelia and groundsels.
Wildlife
The animal population include forest elephants, several primate species and many endemic birds.
Glacial recession
The global climate change has had a negative impact on the Rwenzori glaciers as the total area covered by glaciers has reduced from 7.5 sq km in 1906 to 1.5 sq km in 2005. This state of affairs is mostly to have a negative impact on the mountains vegetation and the biodiversity status.