Sacred mountains Examples of this would be the Hindu belief that Mount Kailas is the final resting place for the souls of the dead, as well as the large cemetery placed on Mount Koya-san. Sacred mountains can also provide an important piece of a culture's identity. For example, Messerli and Ives write, “The Armenian people regard Mount Ararat, a volcano in eastern Turkey believed to be the site of Noah's Ark in the Bible, to be a symbol of their natural and cultural identity”. As a result of the mountain's role as a part of a cultural identity, even people who do
Eastern Arc Mountains to a great deal of endemism, and a very diverse flora and fauna, The Eastern Arc becoming known as one of the world's top twenty biodiversity hotspots. Seventy-five species of vertebrate are endemic to the Eastern Arc, as well as thousands of species of invertebrates. Sixteen plant genera are endemic to these mountains, one of them being "Saintpaulia", the African violet, now used as a houseplant around the world. Many of these endemics have evolved recently, but some are remnants of populations that were at one time more widespread. The Uluguru Mountains and the eastern Usambara Mountains have the greatest