{{Short description|Volcano in Mbeya Region of Tanzania}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Mount Rungwe | image = SüdTanHochland.jpg | image_caption = | map = | map_caption = | location = Mbeya Region | label_position = right | elevation_m = 2981 | prominence_m = | prominence_ref = | listing = | range = Kipengere Range | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | type = Stratovolcano<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web | url=https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=222166 | title=Global Volcanism Program | Rungwe }}</ref> | age = | last_eruption = 1250 AD <ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web | url=https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=222166 | title=Global Volcanism Program | Rungwe }}</ref> | first_ascent = | easiest_route = | range_coordinates = }}
'''Mount Rungwe''' is a volcanic mountain in Mbeya Region, in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. At an altitude of {{convert|2981|m|ft}}, it is southern Tanzania's second-highest peak. Rungwe's volcano is currently inactive.
==Geography== Rungwe stands at the junction of the eastern and western arms of the East African Rift. It dominates the mountainous country at the north-west end of the trough that contains Lake Malawi. The Kipengere Range lies to the east, and the Poroto Mountains lie to the north. Kyejo volcano (or Kiejo) (2176 m) lies to the southeast.<ref name="volcano.si.edu">Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Kyejo (222170) in Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.8.2. Venzke, E (ed.). Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 06 Sep 2019 (https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=222170). https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013</ref> The Kyela Plain, which occupies the valley of the East African Rift, lies to the south, extending to Lake Malawi.
The western slopes of the mountain are drained by the Kiwira River, which empties into Lake Malawi.
==Geology== Mount Rungwe is the center of the Rungwe Volcanic Province, a region of volcanic mountains that includes Mount Rungwe, Mount Ngozi in the Poroto Mountains and Kiejo. Rungwe Volcanic Province lies at a triple junction of rift valleys. The Lake Malawi Rift extends to the southeast, the Lake Rukwa rift to the northwest, and the Usungu Rift to the northeast. The region has been volcanically active from the late Miocene to historical times. Both Rungwe and Ngozi have had Plinian eruptions since the end of the Ice Age. The region has geothermal activity, including hot springs and warm springs.<ref>Albano Mahecha, Geoffrey Mibei, and Jacob Mayalla (2016)."Structural Control of Rungwe Volcanic Province and its Implication on Geothermal System." Proceedings, 6th African Rift Geothermal Conference Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2nd – 4th November 2016. Accessed 6 September 2016. [http://theargeo.org/fullpapers/STRUCTURAL%20CONTROL%20OF%20RUNGWE%20VOLCANIC%20PROVINCE%20AND%20ITS%20%20IMPLICATION%20ON%20GEOTHERMAL%20SYSTEM.pdf]</ref> Rungwe is topped with a 4-km-wide caldera, breached to the WSW. Rungwe had a large explosive eruption about 4000 years ago, and the most recent eruption was about 1200 years ago.<ref>Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Rungwe (222166) in Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.8.2. Venzke, E (ed.). Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 06 Sep 2019 (https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=222166). https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013</ref> Kyejo last erupted around 1800.<ref name="volcano.si.edu"/>
==Climate== Mount Rungwe has a tropical montane climate. Most rainfall is during the November to April wet season, although mists and light rain occur during the dry season. Nighttime frosts are common from June to August.<ref>"Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 5 September 2019. [https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at1015]</ref> The southeastern slopes of these mountains receive up to {{convert|3|m|ft}} of rainfall a year, the highest rainfall in Tanzania.
==Ecology== The plant communities on Mount Rungwe vary with elevation. The surrounding lowlands are mostly miombo woodlands. Evergreen lower montane forests are found on the lower slopes of the forest reserve, particularly in the southeast. Common trees include ''Aphloia theiformis, Ficalhoa laurifolia, Maesa lanceolata, Trichocladus ellipticus, Albizia gummifera,'' and ''Bersama abyssinica''. Upper montane forests are found up to 2600 meters elevation, forming a broken canopy of about 10–25 meters. Common trees include ''Albizia gummifera, Aphloia theiformis, Bersama abyssinica, Bridelia micrantha, Diospyros whyteana, Hagenia abyssinica, Macaranga kilimandscharica, Maesa lanceolata, Maytenus acuminata, Myrianthus holstii'', and ''Neoboutonia macrocalyx''. ''Astropanax goetzenii'' is a common creeping vine.
At 2600 meters elevation, the upper montane forests transition to a belt of bamboo covering about 866 hectares, and heathland between 2600 and 2800 meters elevation. The heathland includes species of ''Erica'', ''Protea'', and ''Aloe'', with ''Hagenia abyssinica, Agarista salicifolia, Catha edulis, Hypericum revolutum'', and ''Maesa lanceolata''. The mountaintop is bushed grassland, covering about 300 ha. High-elevation herbs include bracken, ''Buchnera rungwensis'', and ''Valeriana capensis''.<ref>"Mount Rungwe Nature Forest Reserve". ''The Arc Journal'', Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, Biannual Newsletter Issue No. 30, May 2017. Accessed 5 September 2019. [https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/arc-journal-issue-30.pdf]</ref>
Two amphibians (''Phrynobatrachus rungwensis'' and ''Probreviceps rungwensis'') are named after Mount Rungwe where they were first collected.<ref name="Loveridge 1932"/> A genus of monkey, ''Rungwecebus'' was named for the mountain in 2005. It was initially thought to be a type of mangabey from the genus ''Lophocebus'', until more detailed genetic analysis showed its closer connection to baboons. ''Rungwecebus'' lives on Mt. Rungwe, in the adjacent Livingstone Forest Reserve in the Kipengere Range, and with a disjunct population in the Udzungwa Mountains 250 miles to the east. The Rungwe dwarf galago, a newly identified primate species in the genus ''Galagoides'', is found on Mt. Rungwe and nearby portions of the Poroto and Kipengere mountains. It inhabits montane evergreen and bamboo forests.<ref>Charles Foley, Lara Foley, Alex Lobora, Daniela De Luca, Maurus Msuha, Tim R.B. Davenport, Sarah M. Durant (2014). "A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania". Princeton University Press, 2014.</ref>
==Mount Rungwe Nature Forest Reserve== Much of the mountain (13,652.1 ha) was listed as a Catchment Forest in 1949. In 2009 the reserve was upgraded to a Nature Forest Reserve to improve its conservation.<ref>"Mount Rungwe Nature Forest Reserve". Tanzania Forest Services Agency. Accessed 4 September 2019. [http://nature-reserves.go.tz/fnr/rungwe]</ref>
==References== <references>
<ref name="Loveridge 1932">{{Cite journal |last=Loveridge |first=Arthur |date=1932 |title=New reptiles and amphibians from Tanganyika Territory and Kenya Colony |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/14308 |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College |volume=72 |pages=375–387}}</ref>
</references> *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060721203345/http://www.tanzania.go.tz/profile.html Tanzania National Website] *[http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=7028&m=0 Birdlife.org: Factsheet] *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060813141237/http://www.southernhighlandstz.org/keysites.html Southern Highlands Conservation Programme]}}
{{coord|9|07|S|33|38|E|region:TZ-14_type:mountain|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rungwe, Mount}} Category:Geography of Mbeya Region Category:Inactive volcanoes Category:Southern Highlands, Tanzania Category:Southern Rift montane forest–grassland mosaic Category:Volcanoes of Tanzania Category:Important Bird Areas of Tanzania Category:Stratovolcanoes of Tanzania