The
Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along
the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border
the western branch of the East African Rift. They are located between Lake
Edward and Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the
Kinyarwanda word
ibirunga, which means "volcanoes".
The mountain range consists of eight major volcanoes. Most of them are
dormant, except Mount Nyiragongo 3,462 metres (11,358 ft) and Mount
Nyamuragira 3,063 metres