Northern Ice Field, Ice field near summit in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
The Northern Ice Field is a sheet of ice on the western slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, close to the summit. It is split into two separate sections that have gradually moved apart over time.
In 1912, this ice field was still part of a much larger connected mass of ice that covered the summit of Kilimanjaro. Over the following decades it separated from the rest and shrank into its current divided form.
Research teams extract ice core samples from the Northern Ice Field to study climate patterns spanning over 11,500 years of Earth's temperature variations.
The ice field can only be reached by climbers who make it to the summit of Kilimanjaro, which requires several days of trekking and careful acclimatization to high altitude. At that height, cold and wind can be very intense, so warm layers and protective gear are needed.
Researchers have extracted ice cores from this field that hold climate data going back over 11,500 years, making it a natural record of past temperatures. As the ice retreats, rock formations that had been buried for thousands of years are gradually appearing at the surface.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
