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Cameroon · Volcanic field

Oku Volcanic Field

Type
Volcanic field
Elevation
3011m
Last eruption
Unknown
Lake Nyos is the most renowned of the numerous maars and basaltic cinder cones associated with the deeply dissected Mount Oku massif. The 1.2 x 1.9 km wide lake, seen here from the south, was the site of a gas-release event on 21 August 1986 that caused at least 1,700 fatalities. Wave damage stripped the peninsula at the left of vegetation. The emission of around 1 km3 of magmatic carbon dioxide has been attributed to either non-volcanic overturn of stratified lake waters, to phreatic explosions, or to injection of hot gas into the lake.
Lake Nyos is the most renowned of the numerous maars and basaltic cinder cones associated with the deeply dissected Mount Oku massif. The 1.2 x 1.9 km wide lake, seen here from the south, was the site of a gas-release event on 21 August 1986 that caused at least 1,700 fatalities. Wave damage stripped the peninsula at the left of vegetation. The emission of around 1 km3 of magmatic carbon dioxide has been attributed to either non-volcanic overturn of stratified lake waters, to phreatic explosions, or to injection of hot gas into the lake. · Photo: Photo by Jack Lockwood, 1986 (U.S. Geological Survey).
Type
Volcanic field
Country
Cameroon
Region
Northern Africa / Western Africa Volcanic Province
Elevation
3011m
Coordinates
6.250, 10.500
Last eruption
Unknown
Tectonic setting
Intraplate / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-basalt

Geological summary

Numerous maars and basaltic cinder cones lie on or near the deeply dissected rhyolitic and trachytic Mount Oku massif along the Cameroon volcanic line.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

The Oku Volcanic Field or Oku Massif is a group of volcanoes based on a swell in the Cameroon Volcanic Line, located in the Oku region of the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. The Mount Oku stratovolcano rises to 3,011 m above sea level.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

2 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
0
Uncertain eruptions
2
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
1550~1594 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31942~1986 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?15501637176818551942

Detailed timeline

  1. 1986VEI ?Method not stated
    1986-08-21 – 1986-12-30
    Lake Nyos
  2. 1550 (±100 yrs)VEI 3Method not stated
    1550 – end unknown
    Lake Nyos

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.