Answer:
Mount Kilimanjaro is made up of five distinct climate zones. They are as follows; Cultivation, Forest, Heather-Moorland, Alpine Desert, and Summit climate zones. This region of the mountain receives the greatest annual rainfall. It also has many rivers formed by glacier run-off from the top of Kilimanjaro. This zone is made up of farmland and small Chagga villages. The rainforest quickly gives way to the Heather zone. The temperatures here are erratic. The daytime temperature can soar above 100° F (40oC) yet drop below freezing (32° For 0° C) at night. These temperatures combined with less rain, gusting winds, giant heathers, wild grasses, and a rocky trail replaces the rainforest very quickly. Some of the heather shrubs can grow to over 30 ft. high. The rainforest circles a majority of Mount Kilimanjaro. However, most of the rain on the mountain falls on the south and the east side. The forest is much thicker here than to the north on the Kenyan side of the mountain. The highland desert zone region of the mountain is a strange place, truly deserving the title of Desert. The annual rainfall is less than 8 inches a year and what plant life exists at this altitude has to put up with the oppressive sun and sub-zero temperatures—all in the same day. This area also shows off its violent past with fields of volcanic rock of all shapes and sizes. The artic zones lower section of this section is made up of loose dirt and gravel known as scree. Scree is quite difficult to climb. That is part of the reason the summit attempt begins at night when the evening dew has settled and frozen. This allows the scree to knit together making it a more stable path.
