Region of Tanzania
Kilimanjaro Region ("Mkoa wa Kilimanjaro" in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital and largest city is the municipality of Moshi. With the 3rd highest HDI of 0.640 in the country, Kilimanjaro is one among the top five most developed regions of Tanzania. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,640,087, which was lower than the pre-census projection of 1,702,207. For 2002–2012, the region's 1.8 percent average annual population growth rate was the 24th highest in the country. It was also the eighth most densely populated region with 124 people per square kilometer. The most well-known tribes in the Kilimanjaro region are the Chaga.
The region forms part of the Northern Tourism Circuit in Tanzania. It is home to the Kilimanjaro National Park (which contains Mount Kilimanjaro), the Mkomazi National Park, the Pare Mountains, Lake Jipe, and Lake Chala. The region is bordered to the north and east by Kenya, to the south by the Tanga Region, to the southwest by the Manyara Region, and to the west by the Arusha Region.
Etymology.
In the early 19th century, the Swahili already referred to the mountain as "Kilima Ndsharo" (or "Dscharo"), "The Country of Dschagga," near the coast. In 1848 and 1849, Rebmann said the mountain Swahili names mean "Great Mountain" and "the Mountain of the Caravans" in reference to the mountain that could be seen for a long distance and served as a guide for travelers. He and Krapf found that the term was referred to differently by several nearby populations: the Taita just shortened the coastal Swahili word to ""Ndscharo"." It was known as ""Kima ja Jeu"," which is Kamba for "Mountain of Whiteness." It was known as ""Ol Donyo Eibor"," which is Maasai for "White Mountain." The Chagga themselves, especially the Kilema and Machame, simply called it "Kibo". "Kilimandscharo", which Rebmann spelled in German between 1848 and 1849, was changed to "Kilimanjaro" by 1860.
Administrative divisions.
Districts.
Kilimanjaro Region is divided into one city and six districts, each administered by a council, except Moshi District which has two, one of which serves as the capital of the region.
History.
Kilimanjaro Region was officially established in 1963 with two districts: Kilimanjaro and Pare. The region was part of the Northern Province in the pre-independence Tanganyika. Northern Province's districts included Arusha and Mbulu, while Pare District was a part of Tanga Province.
Of the region's six districts, four traditionally had Chagga settlements, which are Hai District, Moshi District, Rombo District, and Siha District. The other two, Mwanga District and Same District, have historically included Pare settlements. However, during colonial rule in the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, the region was divided into two main districts: Moshi district, which was composed of all the areas settled by the Chagga people on the slopes of the mountain, and Pare district, which was a Pare tribe settlement. The region, from earlier times, had been settled by the people collectively called the Chagga, the Maasai, Wakwavi, and Waarusha (in the lower parts of Mount Kilimanjaro), and the Pare on the Pare mountains. These have been intermingling, trading, and even fighting from time to time for various socio-political reasons. Later, other tribes also migrated to the area.
Geology.
Mount Kilimanjaro lies on a tectonic plate line intersection east of the tectonically active Rift Valley. The activity that created this stratovolcano dates back less than a million years. Steam and sulphur fumaroles here are indicative of residual activity.
At one stage, most of the summit of Kilimanjaro was covered by an ice cap, probably more than deep. Glaciers extended well down the mountain forming moraine ridges, clearly visible now on the southern flanks down to about . At present only a small fraction of the glacial cover remains.
References.
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