UGANDA: Virunga Volcanoes

The Virungas are a chain of eight volcanoes which dot the borders of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

Most of these volcanoes are dormant, except Mount Nyiragongo 3,462 metres (11,358 ft.) and Mount Nyamuragira 3,063 meters (10,049 ft.), both in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Recent eruptions occurred in 2006 and in January, 2010. Mount Karisimbi is the highest volcano at 4,507 meters (14,787 ft.).

The oldest mountain is Mount Sabyinyo, which rises 3,634 meters (11,923 ft.) above sea level.

Three of the conical peaks are in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park i.e. Muhavura (4,127m) which is the highest of the peaks in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

The name means guide, and the Batwa used to look for its high peak to help orient them in the forest.

Muhavura volcano also called Volcan Muhabura is an extinct volcano at the easternmost end of the Virunga Mountains in east central Africa.

It lies northeast of Lake Kivu on the border between Uganda and Rwanda.

It is more than 13,500 ft. high, and its crater contains a lake.

The volcano forms part of the Virunga National Park that rises to 4127 m at the NE end of the Virunga Range.

It is a relatively youthful stratovolcano with a small 40-m-wide lake in its summit crater.

The 3474-m-high Gahinga (Mgahinga) volcano is joined to Muhavura on the west by a broad saddle.

The two volcanoes have produced basanitic-to-trachyandesitic lavas.

A small parasitic crater has been recently active, but the age of the latest eruption of Muhavura is not known.

It has a crystal clear crater lake about 36m wide at its summit.

The top commands panoramic views far into Uganda, Rwanda and along the length of the Virunga chain.

Mount Gahinga (3,474m) is the smallest of the Virunga volcanoes.

It is named after the local practice of tidying the volcanic debris that clutters local farmland into neat cairns – or Gahinga. Its swamp-filled crater is around 180m wide.

Sabinyo also called Volcan Sabinyo, or Volcan Sabyinyo, extinct volcano (11,500 feet [3,505 m]) in the Virunga Mountains of east-central Africa.

It lies northeast of Lake Kivu and south-southeast of Rutshuru, Congo (Kinshasa).

Its summit marks the junction of the Congo (Kinshasa)–Rwanda–Uganda borders. It forms part of the Virunga National Park, which is the home of the mountain gorilla.

Sabinyo which also means old man’s teeth is a reference to its jagged summit which is dissected by deep gorges and ravines.

The countries that share the Virungas – Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo – meet on the highest of Sabinyo’s stumpy peaks.

This volcano offers 3 challenging peaks to climb. A climb up the mountain takes one up a ridge along the eastern side of the climb peak 1.

If you are to continue, the climb peak 11 involves walking as ridge with breath- taking drops into gorges of Rwanda and Uganda.

Finally, the hike up to the peak 11 is steep with several ladders and mush scrambling.

You are guaranteed to get your hands dirty en-route to peak 111.

Once on top, you will be in Rwanda, DRC and Uganda at the same time. The journey takes about 8hrs round to cover the 14km stretch.



Tourism Observer

DR CONGO: Mount Nyiragongo

Mount Nyiragongo is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of 3470 m (11382 ft)in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 20 km (12 mi) north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and 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 - one at about 3,175 metres (10,417 ft) and a lower one at about 2,975 m (9,760 ft). Nyiragongo's lava lake has at times been the most voluminous known lava lake in recent history. The depth of the lava lake varies considerably.

A maximum elevation of the lava lake was recorded at about 3,250 m (10,660 ft) prior to the January 1977 eruption - a lake depth of about 600 m (2,000 ft). A recent very low elevation of the lava lake was recorded at about 2,700 m (8,900 ft). Nyiragongo and nearby Nyamuragira are together responsible for 40% of Africa's historical volcanic eruptions.

Not much is known about how long the volcano has been erupting, but since 1882, it has erupted at least 34 times, including many periods where activity was continuous for years at a time, often in the form of a churning lava lake in the crater. The volcano partly overlaps with two older volcanoes, Baratu and Shaheru, and is also surrounded by hundreds of small volcanic cinder cones from flank eruptions.

Volcanism at Nyiragongo is caused by the rifting of the Earth's crust where two parts of the African Plate are breaking apart. A hot spot is probably also partly responsible for the great activity at Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira.

The lava emitted in eruptions at Nyiragongo is often unusually fluid. Nyiragongo's lavas are made of melilite nephelinite, an alkali-rich type of volcanic rock whose unusual chemical composition may be a factor in the unusual fluidity of the lavas there. Whereas most lava flows move rather slowly and rarely pose a danger to human life, Nyiragongo's lava flows may race downhill at up to 60 miles per hour (up to 100 km/h).

This is because of the extremely low silica content (the lava is mafic). Hawaiian volcanic eruptions are also characterized by lavas with low silica content, but the Hawaiian volcanoes are broad, shallow-sloped shield volcanoes in contrast to the steep-sided cone of Nyiragongo, and the silica content is high enough to slow most Hawaiian flows to walking pace.

The lava lake activity continued through 2010.At present, the lake is mostly confined within a broad, steep-sided cinder cone on the crater floor, roughly 60 feet high by 600 feet wide.

1977 eruption
Nyiragongo's lava lake

Between 1894 and 1977 the crater contained an active lava lake. On 10 January 1977, the crater walls fractured, and the lava lake drained in less than an hour. The lava flowed down the flanks of the volcano at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour on the upper slopes, overwhelming villages and killing at least 70 people. The hazards posed by eruptions like this are unique to Nyiragongo. Nowhere else in the world does such a steep-sided stratovolcano contain a lake of such fluid lava. Nyiragongo's proximity to heavily populated areas increases its potential for causing a natural disaster. The 1977 eruption raised awareness of the unique dangers posed by Nyiragongo, and because of this it was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of particular study, in 1991.

The 1977 eruption was preceded by the creation of a new small volcano, [Murara], a short distance away on the slopes of Nyamuragira.

2002 eruption
Lava lakes reformed in the crater in eruptions in 1982–1983 and 1994. Another major eruption of the volcano began on January 17, 2002, after several months of increased seismic and fumarolic activity. A 13 km fissure opened in the south flank of the volcano, spreading in a few hours from 2800 m to 1550 m elevation and reaching the outskirts of the city of Goma, the provincial capital on the northern shore of Lake Kivu.

Lava streamed from three spatter cones at the end of the fissure and flowed in a stream 200 to 1000 m wide and up to 2 m deep through Goma. Warnings had been given and 400,000 people were evacuated from the city across the Rwandan border into neighbouring Gisenyi during the eruption. Lava covered the northern end of the runway at Goma International Airport, leaving the southern two-thirds usable, and reached Lake Kivu.

This raised fears that the lava might cause gas-saturated waters deep in the lake to suddenly rise to the surface, releasing lethally large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane – similar to the disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986. This did not happen, but volcanologists continue to monitor the area closely.

About 147 people died in the eruption from asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and buildings collapsing due to the lava and earthquakes.At least 15% of Goma comprising 4,500 buildings were destroyed, leaving about 120,000 people homeless. The eruption was the most destructive effusive eruption in modern history.

Immediately after the eruption stopped, a large number of earthquakes were felt around Goma and Gisenyi. This swarm activity continued for about three months and caused the collapse of more buildings.

Six months after the start of the 2002 eruption, Nyiragongo volcano erupted again. Activity at Nyiragongo is ongoing, but currently confined to the crater, where another lava lake has formed about 250 metres below the level of the 1994 lava lake.

Localized carbon dioxide toxicity, known locally as 'mazuku', has killed children even more recently. In locations where the gas seeps from the ground in relatively high levels, without the dispersing effects of wind, its effects can be deadly.