Kitumbeine Volcano

Kitumbeine
Mlima Kitumbeine (Swahili)
Kitumbeine viewed from the north in Longido District
Highest point
Elevation2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Coordinates2°52′46.2″S 36°12′39.6″E / 2.879500°S 36.211000°E / -2.879500; 36.211000
Geography
Map
Country Tanzania
RegionArusha Region
DistrictLongido District
Geology
Mountain typeShield
Volcanic regionCrater Highlands
Last eruptionPleistocene
Climbing
AccessPublic
Topographical map of the Crater Highlands, looking from the north to the southwest. Kitumbeine is to the lower left

Kitumbeine Volcano also known as Kitumbeine (Mlima Kitumbeine, in Swahili) at 2,850m is a shield volcano located in Longido District of Arusha Region in Tanzania.[1] It stands at 2,850 metres (9,350 ft). The volcano is shared amongst three wards of Longido District, namely; Elang'ata Dapash, Kitumbeine and Iloirienito wards. The volcano is located in the geographic area known as the Crater Highlands and is a shield volcano that last erupted in the Pleistocene.[2] Ketumbeine volcano activity continued throughout the Pleistocene.[3]

The mountain is home to a endemic frog known as Strongylopus kitumbeine or Kitumbeine Stream Frog, which belongs to the Pyxicephalidae family.[4] The species inhabits Afromontane Juniperus forests and tussock grasslands at elevations ranging from 2,100–2,800 m (6,900–9,200 ft) above sea level along semi-permanent and seasonal streams and around temporary pools. It can also survive in poorly disturbed forest. Breeding occurs in open water. While it is common within its restricted range, it has been classified as a vulnerable species due to threats from Maasai livestock grazing and fire, as well as its small range.[5]

  1. ^ Global Volcanism Program, 2023. St. Helens (321050) in [Database] Volcanoes of the World (v. 5.0.3; 1 Mar 2023). Distributed by Smithsonian Institution, compiled by Venzke, E. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW5-2022.5.0
  2. ^ "Smithsonian, Kitumbeine overview". Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. ^ Dawson J B, 1992. Neogene tectonics and volcanicity in the North Tanzania sector of the Gregory Rift Valley: contrasts with the Kenya sector. Tectonophysics, 204: 81-92.
  4. ^ Channing, Alan, and Tim RB Davenport. "A new stream frog from Tanzania (Anura: Ranidae: Strongylopus)." African Journal of Herpetology 51.2 (2002): 135-142.
  5. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Strongylopus kitumbeine Channing and Davenport, 2002". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 September 2016.