The eastern highlands and mountains are related to the uplift action around the Rift Valley,
which traverses Africa from Ethiopia to central Zambia.
The Rif and Atlas mountains form part of the Alpine mountain building process.
The others are remnants of earlier tectonic activity or are related to volcanism (e.g. Mount Cameroon).
Some of the mountain peaks reach so high that permanent snow covers the top (e.g. Kilimanjaro, Ruwenzori),
although much has disappeared during the past decades due to climate change.