Mount Bisoke
| Mount Bisoke | |
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Mount Bisoke
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,711 m (12,175 ft) |
| Coordinates | 1°27′39″S 29°28′54″E / 1.46083°S 29.48167°ECoordinates: 1°27′39″S 29°28′54″E / 1.46083°S 29.48167°E |
| Geography | |
 Mount Bisoke
Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the border with Rwanda
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| Location | Rwanda / Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Parent range | Virunga Mountains |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | August 1957 |
Mount Bisoke (also Visoke) is an active volcano in the Virunga Mountains of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. It straddles the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the summit is located in Rwanda. It is located approximately 35 km northeast of the town of Goma and adjacent Lake Kivu.
Bisoke, like all of the peaks in the Virunga Mountain Range, is a volcano created by rift action on the forming divergent boundary of the East African Rift which is slowly bisecting the African plate. The mountain reached a height of 3,711 metres (12,175 ft) after its last eruption in 1957. Bisoke has the largest crater lake of the range.
The mountain is located within Rwandan Volcanoes National Park and Congolese Virunga National Park. The steep slopes of the peak are densely covered with equatorial rainforest and alpine meadows. The summit does not gather snow, but is often shrouded in fog. Bisoke is one of the mountains considered a habitat for the Endangered mountain gorilla, and the Karisoke Research Center founded by Dian Fossey is located in the valley to the west.
Being located within two national parks, it is by law off-limits to most standard wilderness industries such as logging, farming, or mining. Aside from visitors to the parks searching for gorillas or other wildlife, the peak is popular with mountaineers. It can be climbed in a day from the Rwandan side, and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) leads two-day excursions to it and nearby Mount Karisimbi, most often out of the nearby city of Ruhengeri. The climb is considered steep, but walkable.
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Wikipedia