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Data from the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution
Details for: Lengai, Ol Doinyo
A herd of wildebeest graze in the foreground during an explosive eruption from Tanzania's Ol Doinyo Lengai in 1966. Explosive activity began in August 1966, near the end of an eruption that began in 1960 and consisted of quiet emission of lava flows in the summit crater. Ash deposits from previous eruptions whiten the volcano's slopes. This is the only volcano known to have erupted carbonatite in historical time. Photo by Gordon Davies, 1966 (courtesy of Celia Nyamweru, Kenyatta University).
Volcano Number:
222120
Volcano Name:
Lengai, Ol Doinyo
Country:
Tanzania
Volcano Type:
Stratovolcano
Last Eruption:
2025 CE
Elevation:
2962m
Tectonic Setting:
Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Pop. within 5km:
186
Pop. within 10km:
1855
Pop. within 30km:
18074
Pop. within 100km:
545305
Latitude:
-2.764
Longitude:
35.914
Details
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The symmetrical Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only volcano known to have erupted carbonatite tephras and lavas in historical time. The prominent stratovolcano, known to the Maasai as "The Mountain of God," rises abruptly above the broad plain south of Lake Natron in the Gregory Rift Valley. The cone-building stage ended about 15,000 years ago and was followed by periodic ejection of natrocarbonatitic and nephelinite tephra during the Holocene. Historical eruptions have consisted of smaller tephra ejections and emission of numerous natrocarbonatitic lava flows on the floor of the summit crater and occasionally down the upper flanks. The depth and morphology of the northern crater have changed dramatically during the course of historical eruptions, ranging from steep crater walls about 200 m deep in the mid-20th century to shallow platforms mostly filling the crater. Long-term lava effusion in the summit crater beginning in 1983 had by the turn of the century mostly filled the northern crater; by late 1998 lava had begun overflowing the crater rim.
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Eruption Data from the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution
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Emissions Data from the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution
Sorry. No emissions data found for this volcano.
Data from the Earthchem Library
Sorry. No data exist for this volcano in the EarthChem Library.
Data from the Earthchem Portal
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Data from the SESAR Database
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Data from the MaGa Database
Sorry. No data exist for this volcano in the MaGa database.
Data from UNAVCO
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Data from USIEI
Sorry. This volcano is not covered by any USIEI projects
Data from IRIS FDSNWS
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