Mount Speke
Encyclopedia
Mount Speke lies in the Ruwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and is the second highest peak in this range. Together with Mount Stanley
Mount Stanley
Mount Stanley is a mountain located in the Rwenzori range. With an elevation of 5,109 m , it is the highest mountain of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and the third highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya . The peak and several other surrounding peaks are high...

 and Mount Baker (Ruwenzoris), it forms a triangle enclosing the upper Bujuku Valley. The nearest peak is Mount Stanley
Mount Stanley
Mount Stanley is a mountain located in the Rwenzori range. With an elevation of 5,109 m , it is the highest mountain of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and the third highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya . The peak and several other surrounding peaks are high...

 which is 3.55 km to the SSW. The mountains lie within an area called 'The Mountains of the Moon'.

All mountains in this range consist of multiple jagged peaks. Mount Speke's summits are: Vittorio Emanuele 4,890 m (16,042 ft); Ensonga 4,865 m (15,961 ft); Johnston 4,834 m (15,860 ft); Trident 4,572 m (15,000 ft). The names were chosen in respect for the Italian royal family, however, the name choice had to be approved by the British Protectorate of Uganda who ruled the region at that time.

The people living on the mountains call the 'Rwenzori', which means 'rain maker' or 'rain mountains' in the Bakonjo language. The Baganda
Baganda
The Ganda are an ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally comprising 52 tribes the Ganda have a rich history and culture...

, who could see the mountain range from far, used to call them 'Gambaragara', which means 'My Eyes Pain', a reference to the shining snow. The Bakonjo had their own names for the peaks in the Rwenzori range, however, as they had never climbed them, it was difficult to clarify which peak was which. For example, they had names for the three main peaks: Kiyanja, Duwoni and Ingomwimbi. The fact is that for the Bakonjo the high Rwenzori is the home of Kitasamba, god who resides at the high altitudes and cannot be accessed.

Early European explorers visited the region in the search for the source of the Nile. This mountain was named after John Speke. Whilst he never climbed this peak, Speke mapped the source of the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...

 in 1862. All the mountain in this region are named after similar early explorers.

When Duke of the Abruzzi climbed this summit, he climbed all the other peaks in the Rwenzori range.

Due to the large amount of rainfall Mount Speke receives, it is criss-crossed by many rivers and streams. The vegetation tends to be quite thick. There is also a variety of wildlife, including elephants, chimpanzee, monkeys, leopards and antelope.
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