Jebel Marra

Photo of this volcano
Country Sudan
Volcanic Region Southeast Sahara Volcanic Province
Landform | Volc Type Cluster | Volcanic field
Last Known Eruption 2000 BCE
Coordinates 12.95°N, 24.27°E
Elevation 3,042 m (9,980 ft)
Volcano Number 225030
Google Earth icon Google Earth Placemark with Features
Citation icon Cite Volcano Profile

Latest Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports available for Jebel Marra.

Latest Bulletin Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Jebel Marra.

Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Jebel Marra.

Bulletin Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Jebel Marra.

General Information

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed eruptive period.

2000 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive) VEI: 4

Episode 1 | Eruption (Explosive / Effusive) Deriba caldera
2000 BCE (?) - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at Deriba caldera

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion extremely violent or catastrophic
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
   - - - -    - - - - Caldera Explosion
2000 BCE
(?)
   - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

Synonyms and Subfeatures

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.

Photo Gallery

Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The small circular area just right of the center of this Space Shuttle image is Deriba caldera, the most prominent feature of the vast Jebel Marra volcanic field in western Sudan. The 5-km-wide, steep-walled caldera was formed about 3,500 years ago during an eruption that produced voluminous airfall pumice and pyroclastic flows that traveled more than 30 km from the volcano. Ash eruptions may have continued into early historical time, and fumarolic activity continues on the flanks of the caldera.

NASA Space Shuttle image STS32-94-24, 1990 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)A lake partially fills a younger cone within the Deriba caldera of Jebel Marra volcano in this view from the N. The 5-km-wide, steep-walled caldera, whose wall appears in the background, was formed about 3,500 years ago at the time of the eruption of voluminous airfall pumice and pyroclastic flows that traveled more than 30 km from the volcano. Post-caldera ash eruptions may have continued into historical time.

Photo by J. Williams, 1986 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sudan_Jebel_Marra_Deriba_Lakes.jpg)
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The 5-7 km Deriba caldera is part of the Jebel Marra volcanic field, located in the Darfur province of western Sudan, shown in this November 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top). It formed during an eruption 3,500 years ago that produced pyroclastic flows reaching 30 km away. The central lake is within the crater of a smaller cone.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Jebel Marra in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites