Rwenzori Mountains Geology, soils and physical environment

Rwenzori Mountains were formed about three million years ago by the uplifting of rocks due to forces within the earth’s crust. The rocks include igniess, amphibolite, granite and quartzite (Taylor & Howard, 1998). The soils derived from these rocks are generally of low fertility. Lower slopes mainly have moderately acidic soils while soils on the upper slopes, are generally more acidic, and heavily leached.

Moreover, glaciation in the last 300,000 years has left moraines such as the Nyabitaba ridge and Lake Mahoma. There are glaciers on the Rwenzori range specifically on Mt Stanley, Mt. Speke and Baker. However, tremendous reduction in the glacial coverage is reported (Pomeroy & Tushabe 2004; Opolot & Plumptre 2010). The presence of snow fields and glaciers on the steeply rugged peaks, rising up to 5,109m a.s.l. present a scenically spectacular view (Leggat & Beaton 1971).