Mount Karisimbi is an inactive volcano in the Virunga Mountains

Virunga Mountains

The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu...

 on the border between Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. At 4507 metres (14,787 ft), Karisimbi is the highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is a part of the East African Rift Valley

Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...

. Karisimbi is flanked by Mikeno

Mount Mikeno

Mount Mikeno is a volcanic mountain located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo section of the Virunga Mountains along with Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Karisimbi, and Mount Bisoke...

 to the north, Bisoke

Mount Bisoke

Mount Bisoke is an Active volcano in the Virunga Mountains of the Great Rift Valley. It straddles the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the summit is located in Rwanda...

 to the east and Nyiragongo

Mount Nyiragongo

Mount Nyiragongo is a stratovolcano in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Great Rift Valley. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 20 km north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and just west of the border with Rwanda. The main crater...

 to the west, on the other side of the Rift Valley.

The name Karisimbi probably comes a word in the local language, Kinyarwanda, which means Little white shell. This is an allusion to the white snow cap that can sometimes be found on the volcano.

Between Karisimbi and Bisoke is the Karisoke

Karisoke

Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda was founded by Dian Fossey on 24 September 1967. The camp was the location of extensive studies on Mountain Gorillas....

 Research Center, which was founded by Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous anthropologist Louis Leakey...

 in order to observe the mountain gorilla

Mountain Gorilla

The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...

s living in this area.