Scientists observing Nyamuragira, following the eruption that began on 25 July, found that on 6 August the lower part of a fracture on the volcano's N flank was active. They saw three very active lava fountains eject scoria about 100 m high and a very fast moving lava flow travel to the NE from a breach in the lowest part of the fracture. They estimated that about 3 million cubic meters of lava was being emitted per day. By the 7th, activity had dropped significantly, with only one weak lava fountain active and a decrease in the amount of tremor recorded.

Geological Summary. Africa's most active volcano, Nyamulagira (also known as Nyamuragira), is a massive high-potassium basaltic shield about 25 km N of Lake Kivu and 15 km NE of the steep-sided Nyiragongo volcano. The summit is truncated by a small 2 x 2.3 km caldera that has walls up to about 100 m high. Documented eruptions have occurred within the summit caldera, as well as from the numerous flank fissures and cinder cones. A lava lake in the summit crater, active since at least 1921, drained in 1938, at the time of a major flank eruption. Recent lava flows extend down the flanks more than 30 km from the summit as far as Lake Kivu; extensive lava flows from this volcano have covered 1,500 km2 of the western branch of the East African Rift.

Sources: Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma (OVG), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)