Gordon Noel Humphreys (1883–1966) was a British born surveyor , pilot , botanist , explorer and doctor . Originally trained as a surveyor, Humphreys worked in both Mexico and Uganda . During World War I he served as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps , was shot down and spent his internment training himself in botany.
41-552: After the war it was his survey work and exploration of the Ruwenzori Range in Uganda that brought him to the attention of Edward Shackleton . Humphreys was chosen as the leader and head surveyor of the "Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition" (OUELE) by Shackleton, who was the organiser of the expedition. Consisting of Shackleton, photographer and biologist A. W. Moore (sometimes listed as Morris), H. W. Stallworthy of
82-606: A 6 metres (20 ft) tall heather covered in moss that lives on one of its peaks. Most of the range is now a World Heritage Site and is covered jointly by Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda and the Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo. There is no water shortage in the Ruwenzori; yet, several members of the afro-alpine family resemble species that normally thrive in desert climates. The reason lies in their similar water economy. Water
123-504: A height of 23,000 ft (7,010 m) on the North Col . However, due to bad weather they could not go any higher. Included in the party were Eric Shipton and Tenzing Norgay . Humphreys retired to Devon and died there in 1966. Ruwenzori Range The Ruwenzori , also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura , or Rwenzururu ( Swahili : Milima ya Ruwenzori ) are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on
164-568: A park ranger training facility. About two-thirds of its waters are in the DRC and one third in Uganda. Apart from Ishango, the main Congolese settlement in the south is Vitshumbi, while the Ugandan settlements are Mweya and Katwe in the northeast, near the crater lake of that name, which is the chief producer of salt for Uganda. The nearest cities are Kasese in Uganda to the northeast and Butembo in
205-473: A total area of 7.5 square kilometres (2.9 sq mi), about half the total glacier area in Africa. By 2005, less than half of these were still present, on only three mountains, with an area of about 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi). Recent scientific studies, such as those by Richard Taylor of University College London , have attributed this retreat to global climate change and have investigated
246-410: Is an important activity among local residents. Fauna living on the banks of the lake – including chimpanzees, elephants, crocodiles, and lions – are protected by the national parks. The area is also home to many perennial and migratory bird species. In the 1970s, Lake Edward held a population of around 29,000 hippos in and around the area of the lake. But due to an increase in poaching over
287-552: Is causing a negative impact not only on the hippopotamus population, but the Lake Edward ecosystem and the local fishermen that depend on the lake for survival. The hippopotamus population is extremely important to the ecosystem of Lake Edward due to being a keystone species. Hippos produce dung, which feed tilapia, a once abundant fish species found in Lake Edward. One hippo could produce around 25 kilograms or 55 pounds of dung per day, which could feed thousands of tilapia within
328-1031: Is fed by the Nyamugasani River, the Ishasha River, the Rutshuru River , the Ntungwe River, and the Rwindi River. Lake George to the northeast empties into it via the Kazinga Channel . Lake Edward empties to the north via the Semliki River into Lake Albert . The western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley towers up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the western shore of the lake. The southern and eastern shores are flat lava plains. The Ruwenzori Mountains are 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of
369-424: Is not always readily available to the afroalpine plants when they need it. In addition, nightly frosts affect the sap transport in the plants and the intake of water by its roots. As the day begins, the air temperature and radiation level rise rapidly, putting strenuous demands on the exposed parts of the plants as they try to meet the transpiration demands of the leaves and maintain a proper water balance. To counter
410-658: The Gilman Glacier and then made the first known ascent of Mount Oxford . Naming the mountain after the University of Oxford , Moore estimated the height to be 9,000 ft (2,743 m), it rises to about 7,250 ft (2,210 m). From the summit they could see a mountain range that the "great imperialist" (as Humphreys was called by Shackleton in 1937) named the British Empire Range . Again Moore
451-492: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , geologist Robert Bentham and ornithologist David Haig-Thomas , along with their Greenland Inuit guides, Inutuk and Nukapinguaq, they set up camp at Etah, Greenland , in 1934. From the camp Inutuk, Nukapinguaq, Stallworthy and Moore proceeded to Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island , Canada , where they set up camp. From there Moore and Nukapinguaq continued up
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#1732772255646492-524: The equator . Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley first saw the lake in 1888, during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition . The lake was named in honour of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , son of then British monarch Queen Victoria , and later to become King Edward VII. In 1973, Uganda and Zaire (DRC) renamed it Lake Idi Amin after Ugandan dictator Idi Amin . After his overthrow in 1979, it recovered its former name. In 2014,
533-477: The 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long Lake Katwe, occupies a crater 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) across and is separated from Lake Edward by just 300 metres (980 ft) of land. The crater is about 100 metres (330 ft) deep, and Lake Katwe's surface is about 40 metres (130 ft) lower than Lake Edward's. It is remarkable that the volcanic origin of this area southeast of the Ruwenzoris was not known until it
574-403: The DRC to the northwest, which are respectively about 50 kilometres (31 mi) and 150 kilometres (93 mi) distant by road. Lake Edward is home to many species of fish, including populations of Bagrus docmak , Oreochromis niloticus , Oreochromis leucostictus , and over 50 species of Haplochromis and other haplochromine species, of which only 25 are formally described. Fishing
615-531: The Greek scholar Ptolemy as the source of the Nile. Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range. The mountains formed about three million years ago in the late Pliocene epoch and are the result of an uplifted block of crystalline rocks including gneiss , amphibolite , granite and quartzite . The Rwenzori mountains are
656-725: The Kazinga Channel as the remnant of the past union. To the south lies the May-ya-Moto thermally active volcano 30 kilometres (19 mi) away, and the Nyamuragira volcano in the western Virunga Mountains lies 80 kilometres (50 mi) south, but its lava flows have reached the lake in the past. The Katwe-Kikorongo field features dozens of large craters and cones covering an area of 30 kilometres (19 mi) by 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) between lakes Edward and George, and includes seven crater lakes. The largest of these,
697-676: The Rwenzori Mountains hosted the bases of the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) and the "Partie de Liberation Congolaise" (PLC), an anti- Mobutu rebel group. In the early 1990s, a Congolese rebel group known as the National Council of Resistance for Democracy ( Conseil National de Résistance pour la Démocratie , CNRD) led by André Kisase Ngandu began to wage an insurgency against Mobutu from
738-818: The Rwenzori Mountains. Militias aligned with the old Rwenzururu movement's ideology occupied the Rwenzori Mountains from 1997 to June 2001. In 2020, after being defeated across the border by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , some elements of the Allied Democratic Forces moved into the Rwenzori Mountains. The Ruwenzori are known for their vegetation, ranging from tropical rainforest through alpine meadows to snow. The range supports its own species and varieties of giant groundsel and giant lobelia and even has
779-487: The alpine zone (3,500 to 4,500 metres (11,500 to 14,800 ft)); and, the nival zone (4,400 to 5,000 metres (14,400 to 16,400 ft)). At higher elevations, some plants reach an unusually large size, such as lobelia and groundsels. The vegetation in the Ruwenzori is unique to equatorial alpine Africa. Sources: An ongoing concern is the impact of climate change on the Ruwenzori's glaciers. In 1906, forty-three named glaciers were distributed over six mountains with
820-577: The border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches 5,109 metres (16,762 ft), and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated . Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the Nile . Because of this, European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary Mountains of the Moon , claimed by
861-416: The ecosystem of Lake Edward are suffering. On July 6, 2018, there was a naval skirmish between the two nations of Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo on Lake Edward. This skirmish began as a result of Congolese naval vessels being sent to investigate reports of the Ugandan navy apprehending several Congolese fishing vessels , and civilians . This clash resulted in the death of one person, and
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#1732772255646902-400: The ecosystem. With the hippopotamus population declining due to poaching, the food they provide to the tilapia fish started to disappear as well. This has caused an immense decline in the tilapia population, as the decreasing hippo population cannot support the same amount of the tilapia fish species as it did before, causing a growing problem not only for the ecosystem, but the fishermen within
943-517: The effects of freezing, the afro-alpine plants have developed the insulation systems that give them such a striking appearance. These adaptations become more prominent as the elevation increases. There are five overlapping vegetation zones in the Ruwenzori: the evergreen forest zone (up to 2,800 metres (9,200 ft)); the bamboo zone (2,800 to 3,300 metres (9,200 to 10,800 ft)); the heather zone (3,000 to 3,800 metres (9,800 to 12,500 ft));
984-737: The highest non-volcanic, non- orogenic mountains in the world. This uplift divided the paleolake Obweruka and created three of the present-day African Great Lakes : Lake Albert , Lake Edward , and Lake George . The range is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) long and 65 kilometres (40 mi) wide. It consists of six massifs separated by deep gorges: Mount Stanley (5,109 metres (16,762 ft)), Mount Speke (4,890 metres (16,040 ft)), Mount Baker (4,843 metres (15,889 ft)), Mount Emin (4,798 metres (15,741 ft)), Mount Gessi (4,715 metres (15,469 ft)) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627 metres (15,180 ft)). Mount Stanley has several subsidiary summits, with Margherita Peak being
1025-491: The highest point. The mountains are occasionally identified with the legendary " Mountains of the Moon ", described in antiquity as the source of the Nile River . Modern European explorers observed the range beginning in the late nineteenth century, with Samuel Baker reporting what he called the "Blue Mountains" looming in the distance in 1864, and Henry M. Stanley visiting the range in 1875 and 1888, when he recorded
1066-434: The impact of this change on the mountain's vegetation and biodiversity . In 2012, 2020 and 2022; Klaus Thymann led an expedition with the environmental charity Project Pressure creating comparative photographs to visually document the glacier recession, the findings were published in global media including BBC One Planet, The Guardian and Yale Environment 360 . The alteration can be seen in comparative images. As
1107-418: The lake was the center of an oil dispute. SOCO International entered the premises of the Virunga National Park where the lake is situated to prospect for oil. However, villagers and workers who attempted to stop the oil company from entering the area were beaten up and even kidnapped and tortured. Plans to redraw the lines of Virunga's boundaries and exclude the lake were taken into consideration. However, since
1148-399: The lake. The region shows much evidence of volcanic activity over the last 5000 years. The Katwe-Kikorongo and Bunyaruguru Volcanic Fields, with extensive cones and craters, lie either side of the Kazinga Channel on the northwest shore of the lake. It is thought that Lakes George and Edward used to be joined as one larger lake, but lava from these fields flowed in and divided it, leaving only
1189-438: The lake. Due to the decline of hippos in the area because of poaching, this has impacted the amount of tilapia in the lake, which has caused the fishermen in the nearby villages to suffer, as well as the rest of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many markets are unable to sustain their own fish, now having to import fish from other areas to continue with their business. Though, the declining hippo populations are not
1230-709: The mountains in the 1960s. In course of the Ugandan Bush War , the Rwenzururu movement reemerged and continued its struggle until signing a peace deal with Ugandan President Milton Obote 's government. In the Bush War's later stages, the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebel force operated in the mountains. After the NRA seized power in Uganda in 1986, another civil war broke out. This time,
1271-683: The mountains. His photographs of the glaciers and moraines of the Ruwenzori demonstrated that the glaciers were already in retreat. Sella's photographic work is conserved at the Museo Nazionale della Montagna in Turin and at the Istituto di Fotografia Alpina Vittorio Sella in Biella , both in Italy. The Makerere University , Uganda, also has a selection of his images. The first traverse of
Gordon Noel Humphreys - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-456: The name as "Ruwenzori". In 1906, the Duke of Abruzzi mounted an expedition to the Ruwenzori, the account of which was subsequently published by Filippo De Filippi . The expedition scaled the highest peaks of the range, several of which were named by the duke, while Mount Luigi di Savoia was named in his honour. Accompanying the duke was photographer Vittorio Sella , who had previously visited
1353-427: The only threat to the tilapia in Lake Edward. Due to the decrease in tilapia populations, spawning areas and fisheries for the fish are off limits to fishermen. But some rebel groups as well as robbers or illegal fishers are trying their luck at these areas, often causing even more problems when trying to conserve and increase the tilapia population in the area. Because of this, many villages around Lake Edward as well as
1394-501: The park is a world heritage site and the lake is part of it, such plans naturally go against the World Heritage Convention . Lake Edward lies at an elevation of 920 metres (3,020 ft), is 77 kilometres (48 mi) long by 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide at its maximum points, and covers a total surface area of 2,325 square kilometres (898 sq mi), making it the 15th-largest on the continent. The lake
1435-558: The past 5400 years. The similarly sized Bunyaruguru field on the other side of the Kazinga Channel contains about 30 crater lakes, some of which are larger than Katwe. Lake Edward lies completely within the Virunga National Park (Congo) and the Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda) and does not have extensive human habitation on its shores, except at Ishango (DRC) in the north, home to
1476-536: The six massifs of the Ruwenzori was done in 1975, starting on 27 January and ending on 13 February. The traverse was done by Polish climbers Janusz Chalecki, Stanisław Cholewa and Leszek S. Czarnecki , with Mirosław Kuraś accompanying them on the last half of the traverse. Since Uganda's independence from the British Empire , the Rwenzori Mountains have repeatedly become sanctuaries to rebel groups. The secessionist Rwenzururu movement fought an insurgency in
1517-553: The temperature rises and the glaciers recede, vegetation slowly creeps up the mountain. Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru ) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes . It is located in the Albertine Rift , the western branch of the East African Rift , on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda , with its northern shore a few kilometres south of
1558-461: The villages that surround Lake Edward. Being so close to Lake Edward, the villages that are within the area often rely on the fish, specifically tilapia, to support their families with food and money. In the past, Lake Edward could support the fish demand for the entire eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake had a production capacity of between 15,000 and 20,000 metric tons of tilapia annually, with an estimate of around 700 fishing canoes on
1599-458: The years, there has been a 95% decline in the population, with the population plummeting to only a few hundred by the end of 2006. A terrestrial census was conducted in 2019 assessing that the population was now at 1,500 individuals. The hippopotamus is often poached for its large amount of meat as well as the ivory found in its teeth. Fueled by the high prices that hippo meat and ivory fetch, poachers are consistently hunting for these animals, which
1640-466: Was reported by G. F. Scott Elliot in 1894. Stanley visited Lake Katwe in 1889 and noted the deep depression, the salinity of the lake, and a spring of sulphurous water nearby, but he failed to connect this to volcanism. High-resolution analyses of the elemental composition of calcite and biogenic silica (BSi) content in piston cores from Lake Edward, equatorial Africa, document complex interactions between climate variability and lacustrine geochemistry over
1681-408: Was to overestimate the height of the range at 10,000 ft (3,048 m), in fact the highest point, Barbeau Peak , is 8,583 ft (2,616 m). By the end of May 1935 the group had returned to Etah and to England in late September the same year. In 1936 Humphreys was a member of the 6th British Expedition to attempt to climb Mount Everest . The expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge , reached