Mount Nyiragongo

{{Short description|Active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Nyiragongo

| photo = An aerial view of the towering volcanic peak of Mt. Nyiragongo.jpg

| photo_caption = Mount Nyiragongo viewed aerially in 2014

| elevation = {{convert|3470|m|0|abbr=on}}

| elevation_ref =

| prominence_m = 1,443

| prominence_ref = {{Cite web |title=World Ribus – East Africa Mountains

|url=https://worldribus.org/east-africa-mountains/|access-date=2024-12-26 |website=World Ribus}}

| listing = Ribu

| map = Democratic Republic of the Congo

| map_caption = Mount Nyiragongo

| map_size = 300

| label_position = bottom

| location = Democratic Republic of the Congo

| range = Virunga Mountains

| coordinates = {{coord|1|31|09|S|29|15|15|E|region:CD_type:mountain_scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref =

| topo =

| type = Stratovolcano

| age =

| last_eruption = 22 February 2024 – present

| first_ascent =

| easiest_route =

}}

Mount Nyiragongo ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|ɪər|ə|ˈ|ɡ|ɒ|ŋ|ɡ|oʊ|,_|-|ˈ|ɡ|ɔː|ŋ|-}} {{respell|neer|ə|GONG|go}}) is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of {{convert|3470|m|0|abbr=on}}{{Cite gvp|vn=223030|name=Nyiragongo|access-date=3 December 2021}} in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about {{convert|12|km|abbr=on}} north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and just west of the border with Rwanda. The main crater is about {{convert|2|km|spell=in|0}} wide and usually contains a lava lake. The crater presently has two distinct cooled lava benches within the crater walls – one at about {{convert|3175|m|abbr=on}} and a lower one at about {{convert|2975|m|abbr=on}}.

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 {{convert|3250|m|abbr=on}} prior to the January 1977 eruption – a lake depth of about {{convert|600|m|abbr=on}}. Following the January 2002 eruption, the lava lake was recorded at a low of about {{convert|2600|m|abbr=on}}, or {{convert|900|m|abbr=on}} below the rim.{{Cite journal|last=Tedesco |first=Dario |display-authors=etal |year=2007 |title=January 2002 volcano-tectonic eruption of Nyiragongo volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=112 |issue=B9 |pages=B09202 |doi=10.1029/2006JB004762 |bibcode=2007JGRB..112.9202T |doi-access=free }} The level has gradually risen since then.{{Cite journal|last1=Burgi |first1=P.-Y. |last2=Darrah |first2=T. H. |last3=Tedesco |first3= Dario |last4=Eymold |first4= W. K.|year=2014 |title=Dynamics of the Mount Nyiragongo lava lake |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=119 |issue=5 |pages=4106–4122 |doi=10.1002/2013JB010895 |bibcode=2014JGRB..119.4106B |doi-access=free }} Nyiragongo and nearby Nyamuragira are together responsible for 40% of Africa's historical volcanic eruptions.{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/63 | title=Virunga National Park | publisher=UNESCO | work=World Heritage List | access-date=13 February 2016}}

Geology

File:Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira - PIA03337.png

The volcano partly overlaps with two older volcanoes, Baruta and Shaheru, and is also surrounded by hundreds of small volcanic cinder cones from flank eruptions.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Nyiragongo's cone consists of pyroclastics and lava flows.{{Cite book|last=Sahama |first=Thure Georg |year=1978 |title=The Nyiragongo main cone |series=Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique: Annales – Serie in 8° – Sciences Géologiques, volume 81 |publisher=Royal Museum for Central Africa / Musée Royale de l'Afrique Centrale |location=Tervuren, Belgium |language=en |oclc=434026615}} Nyiragongo's lavas are low-silica, alkali-rich, ultramafic extrusive rocks essentially free of feldspars. They range from olivine-rich melilitites through leucites to nephelinites, containing, in various proportions mainly the minerals nepheline, leucite, melilite, kalsilite, and clinopyroxene.{{Cite journal|last=Sahama |first=Thure Georg |year=1962 |title=Petrology of Mt. Nyiragongo: a review |journal=Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.1144/transed.19.1.1 |s2cid=130469613 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Andersen |first1=Tom |last2=Elburg |first2=Marlina |last3=Erambert |first3=Muriel |year=2012 |title=Petrology of combeite-and götzenite-bearing nephelinite at Nyiragongo, Virunga Volcanic Province in the East African Rift |journal=Lithos |volume=152 |pages=105–121 |doi=10.1016/j.lithos.2012.04.018 |bibcode=2012Litho.152..105A |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marlina_Elburg/post/Can_any_one_provide_thin_section_photographs_of_melilite_bearing_lamprophyre_or_alnoite/attachment/59d63a91c49f478072ea6b5d/AS:273732176678912@1442274245909/download/Andersen_Nyiragongo_paper.pdf }} This very low silica composition results in eruptions with unusually fluid flows. 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 {{convert|100|km/h|abbr=on|-1}}.{{Cite web|last=Baxter|first=Peter J|date=February 18, 2002|title=ERUPTION AT NYIRAGONGO VOLCANO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 17-18 JANUARY 2002|url=http://www.who.int/disasters/repo/7658.doc|access-date=January 17, 2021|website=}}

Active history

Not much is known about how long the volcano has been erupting, but it has erupted at least 34 times since 1882, 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 existence of the lava lake had been suspected for some time but was not scientifically confirmed until 1948.{{Cite book|year=1980 |title=Natural Wonders of the World |publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc |editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=272–273 |isbn=978-0-89577-087-5 |editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}} At that time, it was measured at nearly {{Convert|120000|m2|e6ft2}}. Subsequent expeditions showed that the lake fluctuated in size, depth, and temperature over time.

The lava lake activity is ongoing.{{Cite journal|author=Global Volcanism Program |editor1-last=Bennis |editor1-first=K. L. |editor2-last=Venzke |editor2-first=E. |year=2020 |title=Report on Nyiragongo (DR Congo) |journal=Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network |volume=45 |issue=6 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |doi=10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN202006-223030 |s2cid=241509044 |url=https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN202006-223030 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918162217/https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN202006-223030 |archive-date=18 September 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} {{As of|2020}}, the lake is mostly confined within a broad, steep-sided cinder cone (roughly {{convert|60|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} high by {{convert|600|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} wide) on the crater floor.{{Cite news|last=Nelson |first=Paula |title=Nyiragongo Crater: Journey to the Center of the World |date=28 February 2011 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |language=en |url=http://archive.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/nyiragongo_crater_journey_to_t.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828050637/http://archive.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/nyiragongo_crater_journey_to_t.html |archive-date=28 August 2020 |url-status=live }}

= 1977 eruption =

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 {{convert|60|km/h|0|abbr=on}} on the upper slopes, the fastest lava flow recorded to date,{{Cite book|last=Glenday |first=Craig |year=2013 |title=Guinness Book of World Records 2014 |publisher=The Jim Pattison Group |isbn=978-1-908843-15-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/015 15] |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/015 }} overwhelming villages and killing at least 50 people in the villages of Kibati and Moniki, according to reports made at the time. "Volcano Deaths Estimated at 50", AP report in Omaha World-Herald, January 15, 1977, p.6; A brief sentence in a BBC online report more than 40 years after the event ("The volcano's deadliest eruption happened in 1977, when more than 600 people died") is not supported by reports made in the first few years after the event.

Within 30 minutes, the lava lake had emptied, flowing north, south, and west of the volcano. Nowhere else in the world does such a steep-sided stratovolcano contain a lake of such fluid lava.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} 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, in 1991 it was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of particular study.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iavcei.org/documents/newsletters/1996/1996.pdf |title=IAVCEI NEWS 1/2 1996 |access-date=2014-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713165434/http://www.iavcei.org/documents/newsletters/1996/1996.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-13 |url-status=dead }}

The 1977 eruption was preceded by the creation of a new small volcanic vent, Murara, a short distance away on the slopes of Nyamuragira.{{Cite journal|last1=Nakamura |first1=Y. |last2=Aoki |first2=K. |year=1980 |title=The 1977 eruption of Nyiragongo volcano, eastern Africa, and chemical composition of the ejecta |language=ja |journal=Bulletin of the Volcanological Society of Japan |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=17–32 |doi=10.18940/kazanc.25.1_17 }} (English abstract)

=2002 eruptions=

Lava lakes reformed in the crater in eruptions in 1982–1983 and 1994. Another major eruption of the volcano began on 17 January 2002, after several months of increased seismic and fumarolic activity. A {{convert|13|km|mi|adj=on}} fissure opened in the south flank of the volcano, spreading in a few hours from {{convert|2800|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 {{convert|200|to|1000|m}} wide and up to {{convert|2|m|ft|0}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Hiroyuki |first=Hamaguchi |title=Cooperative Observations at Nyiragongo Volcano in D.R. of Congo |publisher=Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo |url=http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/KAZANKYO/n_report/72.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529232216/http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/KAZANKYO/n_report/72.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2005 |url-status=live }} 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{{cite news|last=Sanders |first=Edmund |date=23 May 2008 |title='Killer Lake' Could Power Rwanda |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-may-23-fg-lake23-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203151044/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-may-23-fg-lake23-story.html |archive-date=3 December 2019 |url-status=live }} – similar to the disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986. This did not happen, but volcanologists continue to monitor the area closely.

About 245 people died in the eruption from asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and buildings collapsing due to the lava and earthquakes.{{cite web |last1=Solana |first1=Carmen |title=Gone with the wind |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2002/jan/31/physicalsciences.highereducation |website=The Guardian |date=31 January 2002 |access-date=4 August 2018}} Lava covered 13 percent of Goma, about {{convert|1.8|sqmi}},{{cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/democratic-republic-congo-volcano-fact-sheet-13-fiscal-year-fy-2002|title=Democratic Republic of the Congo – Volcano Fact Sheet #13, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002|website=ReliefWeb|author=USAID|date=15 August 2002|access-date=15 January 2021}} and nearly 120,000 people were left homeless.

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.

File:Nyiragongo 2002 eruption.jpg|Satellite image of the eruption plume from Nyiragongo in July 2004

File:Lava Lake Nyiragongo 2.jpg|Mount Nyiragongo's lava lake

=Ongoing threat=

Localized carbon dioxide toxicity, known locally as 'mazuku', has killed children even more recently. In locations where the gas seeps from the ground at relatively high levels, without the dispersing effects of wind, its effects can be deadly.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3215_volcanoc.html|title=Volcano Under the City|publisher=PBS|date=2005-11-01|access-date=18 August 2013 }} On 8 March 2016, Goma Volcano Observatory discovered a new vent that opened in the northeast edge of the crater, following local reports of rumblings coming from the volcano. Some fear that this could lead to a flank eruption.{{cite web|url=http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/nyiraongo/new-summit-vent/march2016/eruption-update.html|title=Nyiragongo volcano (DR Congo): fracture opens new vent inside crater – precursor of possible flank eruption?|publisher=Volcano Discovery|date=8 March 2016 }} Observers in 2020 witnessed a rise in the lava lake and other signs of an impending eruption. {{Cite journal|last=Pease |first=Roland |date=13 October 2020 |title=Lava lake rises at dangerous African volcano |journal=Science |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |volume=370 |issue=6514 |pages=270–271 |doi=10.1126/science.370.6514.270 |pmid=33060337 |bibcode=2020Sci...370..270P |s2cid=222821982 |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/lava-lake-rises-dangerous-african-volcano |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014071802/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/lava-lake-rises-dangerous-african-volcano |archive-date=14 October 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

= 2021 eruption =

An eruption began on 22 May 2021.{{Cite news|date=2021-05-23|title=Mount Nyiragongo: DR Congo residents flee as volcano erupts|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57215690|access-date=2021-05-23}} Lava approached the Goma airport and moved towards the city centre of eastern Goma.{{cn|date=May 2022}} It was later confirmed by the North Kivu province's military governor that the eruption was at around 17:00 GMT.{{Cite web|title=DR Congo volcano erupts, mass evacuation ordered|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/22/dr-congos-nyiragongo-volcano-erupts-triggering-panic|access-date=2021-05-23|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}} A highway to Beni was cut off by lava, and authorities urged residents from the city of Goma to evacuate, causing thousands of people to leave their homes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57215690|title='Mount Nyiragongo: People flee as DR Congo volcano erupts'|work=BBC News |date=22 May 2021 |access-date=2021-05-22}}{{cite news |title=DR Congo orders Goma evacuation after Mount Nyiragongo erupts |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/22/dr-congos-nyiragongo-volcano-erupts-triggering-panic |agency=Al Jazeera |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=May 22, 2021}} There was also an electricity cut across large areas following the eruption. {{Cite news|date=2021-05-23|title=Mount Nyiragongo: DR Congo residents flee as volcano erupts|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57215690|access-date=2021-05-23}} As of 27 May 2021, 37 people were missing and presumed dead, after a lava flow reached the outskirts of the city of Goma.{{Cite web|date=7 June 2021|title=DR Congo to start phased return of residents to volcano-hit Goma|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/7/dr-congo-to-start-phased-return-of-residents-to-volcano-hit-goma|access-date=9 June 2021|website=Al Jazeera}} The eruption resulted in at least 32 deaths, mostly caused by car crashes in the ensuing evacuation.{{Cite web|title=Congo's Mount Nyiragongo Volcano Destroys Hundreds of Homes; At Least 37 Dead {{!}} The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel {{!}} weather.com|url=https://weather.com/news/news/2021-05-24-congo-mount-nyiragongo-volcano-erupts-destroys-hundreds-of-homes|access-date=2021-05-25|website=The Weather Channel|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1093022|title = Thousands in Goma evacuated amid fears of further volcanic eruption|date = 28 May 2021}}

Monitoring

File:Nyiragongo Volcano - 50305245106.png

The volcano is continuously monitored by a team of scientists at the Goma Volcanic Observatory (GVO), with seismic data produced every four minutes and temperature data produced every ten minutes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-41656368/monitoring-dr-congo-s-deadly-nyiragongo-volcano|title='I monitor Congo's deadliest volcano'|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-10-19}} Continued funding for the GVO is in doubt, as the World Bank decided in 2020 to terminate its contributions.

References

=Notes=

=Bibliography=

{{Cite journal|vauthors=Allard P, Baxter P, Halbwachs M, Kasareka M, Komorowski JC, Joron JL |year=2003 |title=The most destructive effusive eruption in modern history: Nyiragongo 2003 |journal=Geophysical Research Abstracts |volume=5 |pages=11970}}
{{Cite journal|vauthors=Demant A, Lestrade P, Lubala RT, Kampunzu AB, Durieux J |year=1994 |title=Volcanological and petrological evolution of Nyiragongo volcano, Virunga volcanic field, Zaire |journal=Bulletin of Volcanology |volume=56|issue=1 |pages=47–60 |bibcode=1994BVol...56...47D |doi=10.1007/BF00279728|s2cid=129031508 }}
{{Cite journal|vauthors=Favalli M, Chirico GD, Papale P, Pareschi MT, Coltelli M, Lucaya N, Boschi E |year=2006 |title=Computer simulations of lava flow paths in the town of Goma, Nyiragongo volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=111|issue=B6 |doi=10.1029/2004JB003527 |pages=B06202 |bibcode=2006JGRB..111.6202F|doi-access=free }}
{{Cite book | last1 = Tazieff | first1 = Haroun | author-link1 = Haroun Tazieff | last2 = Bichet | first2 = Pierre | title = Nyiragongo: The Forbidden Volcano | publisher = Barron's | year = 1979 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/nyiragongoforbid00tazi/page/288 288] | isbn = 0-8120-5296-X | oclc = 4114550 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/nyiragongoforbid00tazi/page/288 }}
{{Cite news|author=Rosbøg Sanne |url=http://ekstrabladet.dk/nyheder/samfund/article73101.ece |title=Kvinde overlevede fald på 100-meter |date=2007-07-07 |language=da }}

External links

{{Sister project links | commons= Category:Nyiragongo |wikt=no | q=no| b=no | n=no |s=no | v=no | voy=Nyiragongo volcano | species=no |d=Q214696 | display=Mt. Nyiragongo }}

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Hw3AShanw HUGE Lava Eruption Burns Homes! Mount Nyiragongo, DR Congo - May 22, 2021]
[http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/nyiragongo_crater_journey_to_t.html The Big Picture: Nyiragongo Crater]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090924075553/http://www.france24.com/en/20080817-republic-democratic-congo-volcano-Nyiragongo Nyiragongo volcano: jewel or threat?] on France 24 TV (video missing)
[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hewe Nyiragongo volcano: jewel or threat?] on France 24 TV's channel, including the video, but missing the text
[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/world/africa/23congo.html?scp=1&sq=goma&st=cse/ Tourism at Nyiragongo Volcano]
[http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/photos/nyiragongo/jan11/lava-fountains.html Photos of Nyiragongo lava lake in January 2011]
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1768012.stm BBC News pictures of the destruction of Goma by the 2002 Eruption]
[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/volcanocity/ PBS Nova: "Volcano Under the City"]
[http://www.swisseduc.ch/stromboli/perm/nyiragongo/index-en.html Stromboli Online's expedition to Nyiragongo in May, 2005]
[http://www.geokem.com/OIB-volcanic-continental.html Alkali Basalt Association of the Continents]
[https://www.google.com/maps/@-1.5231456,29.2499178,1128m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en Google Earth view]
[https://www.mountnyiragongo.com/ Mount Nyiragongo tourism Portal]