Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

These images show the famous “snows of Kilimanjaro” in 1976, 2000, 2010, 2013, and 2019. Mount Kilimanjaro, almost 20,000 feet above sea level, is the highest peak in Africa. Though only about 200 miles from the equator, it has been capped by glaciers and snow for 11,000 years. This white cap shrinks and grows almost daily, but over the last century or more, its overall trend has been a steady decline. These images show durable, hard-ice glaciers, as well as the ephemeral snow on and around them. Scientists have focused on the glaciers, trying to understand why they are shrinking, how long they may last, and what they can teach us about the atmosphere today and the Earth long ago.

In these false-color images, vegetation appears green, drylands a brownish tan, and glaciers and snow cyan.

Imagery

Jan. 24, 1976, Landsat 2 (path/row 180/62) — Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Feb. 21, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 168/62) — Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Aug. 19, 2010, Landsat 5 (path/row 168/62) — Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Aug. 27, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 168/62) — Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

July 27, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 168/62) — Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

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