In news- Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world’s most active volcanoes recently erupted.
About Mount Nyiragongo-
- The volcano’s deadliest eruption happened in 1977, and recently in 2002.
- It is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of 3,470 m (11,385 ft) in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift.
- It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just west of the border with Rwanda.
- The main crater is about two kilometres wide and usually contains a lava lake.
- The crater presently has two distinct cooled lava benches within the crater walls.
- Nyiragongo’s lava lake has at times been the most voluminous known lava lake in recent history.
- Nyiragongo and nearby Nyamuragira are together responsible for 40 percent of Africa‘s historical volcanic eruptions.
- The lava in Mount Nyiragongo is particularly fluid and has the potential to move fast.
- Its lavas are low-silica, alkali-rich, ultramafic extrusive rocks essentially free of feldspars.
- It has been said that of late the volcanic activity had not been properly observed by the Goma Volcano Observatory, since the World Bank cut funding amid allegations of corruption.
Source: Indian Express
