Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous name Mongo ma Ndemi ("Mountain of Greatness"). Mount Cameroon is ranked 22nd by topographic isolation.
It is the highest point in sub-Saharan western and central Africa,[5] the fourth-most prominent peak in Africa, and the 31st-most prominent in the world. The mountain is part of the area of volcanic activity known as the Cameroon Volcanic Line, which also includes Lake Nyos, the site of a disaster in 1986. The most recent eruption occurred on February 3, 2012.
Mount Cameroon is one of Africa's largest volcanoes, rising to 4,040 metres (13,255ft) above the coast of west Cameroon.[6]
Flora
The mountain's natural vegetation varies with elevation. The main plant communities on the mountain include:[7]
Lowland rain forest predominates on the lower slopes, from sea level to 800 metres (2,600ft) elevation. The lowland forests are part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests ecoregion. They are composed of evergreen trees with a dense canopy 25 to 30 metres (80 to 100ft) high, with taller emergent trees rising above the canopy. Many trees have buttress roots. The forests are diverse and species-rich, with numerous lianas. Much of the lowland forest has been converted to agriculture and agroforestry, including oil palm plantations.
Lower montane forest, also known as submontane forest or cloud forest, grows between 800 and 1,600 metres (2,600 and 5,200ft) elevation. The lower montane forests are composed of evergreen trees, which form a 20–25-metre-high (65–80ft) canopy that is either closed or discontinuous. There are scattered areas of meadow and scrubland, with grasses, herbs, tall herbaceous plants (including Acanthaceae), tree ferns, woody shrubs, and low trees. Frequent clouds and mists sustain profuse epiphytes, including mosses, ferns, and orchids. The lower montane forests are diverse and species-rich, with characteristic Afromontane plants and endemic species. Impatiens etindensis[8] and I. grandisepala[9] are herbaceous epiphytes endemic to the montane forests of Mount Cameroon. The lower montane forests, together with the higher-elevation forests, scrub, and grasslands, are part of the Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests ecoregion.
Upper montane forest grows from 1,600–1,800 metres (5,200–5,900ft) elevation. Trees up to 20 metres (65ft) high form an open-canopied forest with numerous epiphytes. The upper montane forests are less species-rich than the lower-elevation forests, and fires are more frequent.
Montane scrub grows between 1,800 and 2,400 metres (5,900 and 7,900ft) elevation. Low trees of 1 to 15 metres (3 to 50ft) form open-canopied forests, woodlands, and shrublands, with an understory of small shrubs, herbs, ferns, and climbers.
Montane grassland occurs between 2,000 and 3,000 metres (6,600 and 9,800ft) elevation. The dominant vegetation is tussock grasses, with scattered fire-tolerant shrubs and low trees.
Sub-alpine grassland is found at the highest elevations, from 3,000 metres (9,800ft) to over 4,000 metres (13,000ft). Frost-tolerant tussock grasses, dwarf trees and shrubs, and crustose, foliose, and fruticose lichens predominate.[7]
A view of the tropical rain forest on the mountain
Entrance to the Mt Cameroon National park situated in Buea, south west region
Mount Cameroon National Park (Parc National du Mont Cameroun) was created in 2009. It covers an area of 581.23km2 (224.41sqmi).[10] The park includes the former Etinde Forest Reserve and most of the Bomboko Forest Reserve.[11] A portion of the Bomboko Forest Reserve remains outside the park, on the lower northern slopes of the mountain.[7]
IUGS geological heritage site
In respect of it being 'one of the few volcanoes in the world located at the ocean-continent boundary in a passive tectonic margin', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'The Quaternary Cameroon Volcano' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'[12]
Access
The peak is frequently ascended by hikers. The annual Mount Cameroon Race of Hope scales the peak in around 4½ hours. Sarah Etonge has won the race seven times and is also a tour operator. English explorer Mary Kingsley, one of the first Europeans to scale the mountain, recounts her expedition in her 1897 memoir Travels in West Africa.
↑ A higher elevation of 4,095m (13,435ft) is often given, but this is not compatible with SRTM data, which shows no 3" cells higher than 4,027m (13,212ft) or 1" cells higher than 4,029m (13,219ft).
↑ A hand-held GPS reading of 4,045m (13,271ft) was reported in 2015. The elevation is subject to change due to volcanic activity.
1 2 3 4 5 The Management Plan of the Mount Cameroon National Park and its Peripheral Zone, 2015 - 2019. The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, Republic of Cameroon.
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