Ruwenzori Range

Ruwenzori Range, mountain range, central Africa, located in the Rift Valley, on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Lake Albert and Lake Edward. The Ruwenzori Range was visited in 1889 by an expedition led by the British-American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley, and the major peaks were explored in 1906 by the expedition of the Italian Luigi Amedeo, duke of the Abruzzi. Several peaks rise above 4,877 m (16,000 ft); the highest peak is Mount Stanley, with two summits—Margherita Peak at 5,109 m (16,762 ft) and Mount Alexander at 5,105 m (16,750 ft). The ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy referred to the Ruwenzoris as the “Mountains of the Moon”, which he had heard of as being the source of the Nile. The Ruwenzori Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1999, as conservation efforts had been hindered because of the ethnic and political unrest in the area. The park was closed to tourists between 1997 and 2001. However, by 2004 UNESCO was satisfied that security had been restored and the necessary authorities had regained control in the area and the park was removed from the Danger List.