Glaciers
Mountains
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.
Location
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
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Additional Imagery & Stories
An Unusual Mountain
Many of the world’s highest peaks are the barely tallest points of high ranges, but Kilimanjaro stands alone, 15,000 feet above the surrounding plains...
Beyond the Ice
Tourism is now a major part of the local economy. Ten thousand visitors climb the mountain every year, employing local people as porters and guides. T...
Snowfall, Sunshine, or Warm Air?
Why have these glaciers been shrinking? One factor is snowfall. We don’t have weather measurements from the peak until very recently, but scientists h...
The Glaciers of Kilimanjaro
As the 2000 image was being taken, climatologist Lonnie Thompson was camped on the glacier ice, drilling out samples for analysis and preservation. Wh...
References
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Thompson, L.G., Brecher, H.H., Mosley-Thompson, E., Hardy, D.R., and Mark, B.G., 2009, Glacier Loss on Kilimanjaro continues unabated: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 106, no. 47, 19770–19775.
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