Ol Doinyo Lengai: The Mountain of God Tucked against the edge of the East African Rift in northern T
Ol Doinyo Lengai: The Mountain of GodTucked against the edge of the East African Rift in northern Tanzania is one of the strangest volcanoes in the world: Ol Doinyo Lengai. Its name means the Mountain of God in the Maasai language, and it is the only active natrocarbonatite volcano on the planet, producing magma that is mostly composed of CO2, calcium, and sodium. As a result of its low silica content, the lava produced at this volcano has extremely low viscosity, making it very fluid. It also erupts at very low temperatures compared to most volcanoes - ~480-590ºC versus 1100-1200ºC - and appears black rather than the glowing red most people would expect. Carbonatite lava is unstable at surface conditions, and weathers quickly from black to white, leading to stark contrasts between old flows and fresh eruptions. The latest large eruption on Ol Doinyo Lengai was in 2008, with large ash plume, though lava flows and seismic activity continue intermittently.CELImage: AuthorSource: http://wrd.cm/1Rr1AUj -- source link
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