Mount Stanley, the highest mountain of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is in the Rwenzori Mountains.
Mount Stanley’s highest point, Margherita Peak, reaches 5,109 metres. It is Africa’s third-highest mountain, after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Unlike those two famous volcanic mountains, the Rwenzori peaks are uplifted crystalline mountains with permanent glaciers near their summits.
The Rwenzori range lies along part of the Uganda–Democratic Republic of the Congo border. It is sometimes called the “Mountains of the Moon,” a name associated with ancient geographical accounts. The range receives heavy rainfall and contains distinctive vegetation zones, including giant groundsels and lobelias.
Mount Stanley is not a volcano. Its height and glaciated summit distinguish it from the volcanic cones of East Africa, although all belong to the broader mountain landscape around the Albertine Rift.