Report on Nyamuragira (DR Congo) — 22 November-28 November 2006
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 November-28 November 2006
Managing Editor: Sally Kuhn Sennert
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2006. Report on Nyamuragira (DR Congo). In: Sennert, S K (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 November-28 November 2006. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Volcano Profile | Weekly Report (22 November-28 November 2006)
Nyamuragira
DR Congo
1.408°S, 29.2°E; summit elev. 3058 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
GVO reported that on 27 November at 2200, incandescence from a new eruption of Nyamuragira was visible from Goma, about 30 km S. The intense red glow suggested lava fountaining and flows. Sustained long-period earthquake activity had been present since 26 October.
Geologic Background. Africa's most active volcano, Nyamuragira, is a massive high-potassium basaltic shield about 25 km N of Lake Kivu. Also known as Nyamulagira, it has generated extensive lava flows that cover 1500 km2 of the western branch of the East African Rift. The broad low-angle shield volcano contrasts dramatically with the adjacent steep-sided Nyiragongo to the SW. The summit is truncated by a small 2 x 2.3 km caldera that has walls up to about 100 m high. Historical eruptions have occurred within the summit caldera, as well as from the numerous fissures and cinder cones on the flanks. A lava lake in the summit crater, active since at least 1921, drained in 1938, at the time of a major flank eruption. Historical lava flows extend down the flanks more than 30 km from the summit, reaching as far as Lake Kivu.
Source: Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma (OVG)