The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. They are located between Lake Eduard and Lake Kivu.

The mountain range consists of eight major volcanoes. Most of them are dormant, except Mount Nyiragongo (3462 m) and Mount Nyamuragira (3063 m) in the Congo. These volcanoes erupted most recently in 2002. Mount Karisimbi (4507 m) is the highest volcano. The oldest mountain is Mount Sabinyo (3634 m).

The Virunga Mountains are home of the critically endagered Mountain Gorilla, listed on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species due to habitat loss, poaching, human disease, and war (Butynski et al. 2003). The Karisoke Research Center , founded by Dian Fossey to observe gorillas in their native habitat, is located between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Visoke .

National Parks

• Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
• Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda

List of mountains in the Virunga

• Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda
• Mount Nyiragongo, DRC
• Mount Nyamuragira, DRC
• Mount Mikeno , DRC
• Mount Visoke , Rwanda
• Mount Sabinyo , Rwanda
• Mount Gahinga , Rwanda
• Mount Munavura , Rwanda

See also

• George Schaller