VIRGIN PEAKS 193 



of Tsha-nina-gongo, which touch the walls of the 

 trough and thus complete the dam, are made of 

 newly erupted lava, and are, in one place, only a 

 few hundred feet above the level of the water of 

 the lake. 



The Mfumbiro volcanoes have been very in- 

 completely explored, and are still, to a great extent, 

 terra incognita. Only one of the mountains — Tsha- 

 nina-gongo (11,350 feet) — has, so far as I know, 

 been ascended, so there remain several virgin peaks 

 to be climbed. There Is no permanent snow on 

 any of the mountains, though it is often seen lying 

 on the top of Karissimbi, the highest peak, which 

 rises to a height of about 14,000 feet. The name 

 ' Mfumbiro ' seems to be the name by which the 

 Waganda know these mountains ; locally they are 

 called Kirunga or Virunga. The names which I 

 have used for the peaks are those by which they 

 are known to the natives in the Rutchuru district, 

 and these names have been adopted by the Belgians. 

 Mr. E. S. Grogan named the volcanoes Mounts 

 Gotzen, Sharp, Chamberlain, etc. ; but as the right 

 of naming peaks belongs properly to the man who 

 first climbs them, it seems preferable to retain the 

 native names, unwieldy though they are, by which 

 they are already known. 



In many of the maps which show the straight 

 line of the frontier between German East Africa 

 and Uganda, there will be seen at its western 

 extremity a southward curve, which was designed 



