Arusha National Park, covering  137km square kilometers, is the closest wildlife area to Arusha town, about 30 km away, and easily accessible throughout the year. Mount Meru, at 4566m  and Tanzania’s second highest mountain, is the main feature of this park. About a million years ago a volcanic eruption blew off the top and eastern sides of this once taller than Kilimanjaro Mountain. The last recorded eruption, (a minor one), happened in 1910. Meru Crater, Ngurdoto Crater and the Momella Lakes are additional features of the park whose wildlife includes many bird species, giraffe, elephant, hippo, antelopes, zebra, buffalo, and black & white colubus monkey.