Ol Doinyo Lengaï

The Ol Doinyo Lengaï is a Stratovolcan of Tanzania located in the Vallée of the great rift which traverses the Eastern Africa North in the South. It is only the active Volcan of Tanzania. “Ol Doinyo Lengaï” means “Mountain of the Gods” in the language of the Masaïs of which it is the crowned mountain. It belongs to the Massif of Ngorongoro and a Savane extends to its feet.

Presentation

Ol Doinyo Lengaï is old of less 370  000 years what makes of him the youngest volcano of this part of the African rift. It is located on the Western edge of the rift, with 160 kilometers in the West of the Kilimandjaro, the North-East of the Cratère of Ngorongoro and in the South of the Lac Natron.

Whereas the other volcanos emit Lave S silicated, Ol Doinyo Lengaï is the only volcano in the world to emit Carbonatite. This lava, made up as a majority of Sodium carbonate, contains very few Silice (less than 1%). This confers to him a very great fluidity, a temperature of 500 with 550°C, a black color when it is in fusion and white when it cools and that its minerals are hydrated with the moisture of the air, thus giving are aspect covered with snow with the volcano. Nevertheless it is rougeoyante when the luminosity drops.

History of the eruptions

The great eruptions (observed) of this volcano occurred in 1880, 1914 with 1915, 1926, 1940 with 1941, 1958, 1960 with 1966, 1983 with 1993, 1994 with 1998 but it really is observed and studied only since the Années 1960. The last eruption occurred the July 19th 2007. In 1966, the eruption became explosive, of Vulcanian type then of plinien type. This eruption created a crater 500 meters length on 350 meters broad and hundred meters of depth at the top of the volcano. This crater filled at the time of the following eruption in 1983. The lava, spouting out of small cones, stopped just below the edge of the crater. At the end of 1998, the eruption completely filled the crater and the lava started to overflow on the slopes of the volcano.

See too

Related articles

External bonds

  • Site of Ol Doinyo Lengaï
  • Photographs of Ol Doinyo Lengaï
  • Ol Doinyo Lengaï - the mountain of God
  • Ol Doinyo Lengaï on Earlham College
  • Photographs

Sources

  • Ol Doinyo Lengaï on National Geographic
  • Ol Doinyo Lengaï on Total volcanism program
  • the page of Ol Doinyo Lengaï on the site of one impassioned of volcanos

References

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