Furtwängler Glacier

The glacier is named after Walter Furtwängler [de] who, with Siegfried König, formed the fourth party to ascend to the summit of Kilimanjaro in 1912.

[1] The glacier is a small remnant of an ice cap that once crowned the summit of Kilimanjaro.

[2] Furtwängler Glacier is ephemeral, existing continuously only since about 1650 CE, which corresponds with very high levels in Kenya's Lake Naivasha and the beginning of the Maunder Minimum.

In 2022 it was thought that the glacier would cease to exist by 2023 at a rate of loss of 2,524 m2 (27,170 sq ft) per year.

[5] During fieldwork conducted early in 2006, scientists discovered a large hole near the center of the glacier.

NASA image from 2004 with locations of major glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro. Areas not identified are generally small remnant glaciers or snowfields. Click on image for detail.