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Fentale

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 8.985°N
  • 39.906°E

  • 2,007 m
    6,585 ft

  • 221190
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Fentale.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Fentale.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Fentale.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1820 (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption Caldera floor and SW flank
1820 (?) - Unknown Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Caldera floor and SW flank

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
1820
(?)
   - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

1250 ± 50 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption
1250 ± 50 years - Unknown Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Property Damage
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Fentale.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Fentale.

Photo Gallery

The forested lava flow (left foreground) was erupted on the caldera floor of Fentale volcano in 1820. This view looks from the NE. The walls of the 3 x 4 km summit caldera are up to 500 m high. During the 1820 eruption, basaltic lava flows were also extruded onto the Main Ethiopian Rift from a 4-km-long fissure on the south flank.

Photo by Giday Wolde-Gabriel, 1984 (Los Alamos National Laboratory).
A vertical aerial photo of the Quaternary Fentale volcanic complex, lying along the main Ethiopian rift zone, has a prominent summit caldera and lava flows along its flanks. The 3 x 4 km caldera with steep-sided walls up to 500 m high is elongated perpendicular to the direction of the regional fissures of the Ethiopian Rift. Note the recent rhyolitic obsidian lava flow to the NE (upper right) marked with curved flow ridges. The dark lava flow on the caldera floor was erupted in 1820.

Photo by Imperial Highway Authority of Ethiopia (published in Green and Short, 1971).
The caldera of Fentale volcano, also known as Fantale, is seen in a fish-eye lens view from the NE rim and has walls up to 500 m high. Welded pyroclastic flow deposits accompanied the 2.5 x 4.5 km summit caldera formation. The WNW-ESE-trending elliptical caldera has an orientation perpendicular to the Ethiopian Rift and post-caldera vents occur along the same orientation. Trachytic and obsidian lava flows were emplaced onto the caldera floor. More recent lava flows were erupted in the caldera and on its flanks in 1820.

Photo by Tom Pfeiffer, 2008 (www.volcanodiscovery.com).
Fentale, also known as Fantale, is the stratovolcano seen here from the Ethiopian Rift. Fentale lies at the N end of the main Ethiopian Rift and consists primarily of rhyolitic obsidian lava flows with minor tuffs. Welded pyroclastic flow deposits were emplaced when the 2.5 x 4.5 km summit caldera formed. The WNW-ESE-trending elliptical caldera has an orientation perpendicular to the Ethiopian Rift, and post-caldera vents occur along the same orientation.

Photo by Tom Pfeiffer, 2008 (www.volcanodiscovery.com).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

The following 4 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.

Catalog Number Sample Description Lava Source Collection Date
NMNH 116410-1 Welded Tuff -- --
NMNH 116410-2 Pumice -- --
NMNH 116410-3 Welded Tuff -- --
NMNH 117453-1 Obsidian -- --
External Sites