Mount Fentale

Last updated
Fentale
Fentale aerial.jpg
A vertical aerial photo of the Fentale volcanic complex
Highest point
Elevation 2,007 m (6,585 ft) [1] [2]
Listing Volcanoes of Ethiopia
Coordinates 8°58′30″N39°55′48″E / 8.975°N 39.93°E / 8.975; 39.93 [1]
Geography
Ethiopia rel location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Fentale
Location in Ethiopia
Location Afar Region, Ethiopia
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Last eruption 1820 (?) [1]

Fentale is a stratovolcano located in Awash National Park which was found in the Afar Region, Ethiopia. It is the highest point of Fentale woreda.

Contents

History

Philip Briggs describes Mount Fentale as being crowned by a 350-metre-deep (1,150 ft) crater. Briggs concludes that this volcano "is responsible for the bleak hundred-year-old lava flows that cross the road immediately west of Metehara, and its steam vents can sometimes be seen displaying from the surrounding plains at night." [3]

The date of these eruptions is fixed by the investigations of the early 19th-century explorer William Cornwallis Harris, whom David Buxton states first encountered this volcano and its lava beds in 1842. By questioning the natives, Harris concluded that the most recent eruptions had taken place 30 years before his arrival. [4]

Throughout late 2024 and early 2025, some seismic activity occurred near Fentale as the volcano's activity increased. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcano</span> Rupture in a planets crust where material escapes

A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bachelor</span> Dormant stratovolcano in Oregon, United States

Mount Bachelor, formerly named Bachelor Butte, is a dormant stratovolcano atop a shield volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range of central Oregon, United States. Named Mount Bachelor because it stands apart from the nearby Three Sisters, it lies in the eastern segment of the central portion of the High Cascades, the eastern segment of the Cascade Range. The volcano lies at the northern end of the 15-mile (24 km) long Mount Bachelor Volcanic Chain, which underwent four major eruptive episodes during the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The United States Geological Survey considers Mount Bachelor a moderate threat, but Bachelor poses little threat of becoming an active volcano in the near future. It remains unclear whether the volcano is extinct or just inactive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Lassen volcanic area</span> Geology of a U.S. national park in California

The Lassen volcanic area presents a geological record of sedimentation and volcanic activity in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, U.S. The park is located in the southernmost part of the Cascade Mountain Range in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Pacific Oceanic tectonic plates have plunged below the North American Plate in this part of North America for hundreds of millions of years. Heat and molten rock from these subducting plates has fed scores of volcanoes in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia over at least the past 30 million years, including these in the Lassen volcanic areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lassen Peak</span> Active volcano in California, United States

Lassen Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, is a 10,457 ft (3,187 m) lava dome volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region above the northern Sacramento Valley, it is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States, and part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc stretching from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. It supports many flora and fauna among its diverse habitats, which reach high elevations and are subject to frequent snowfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds</span> Cinder cone in California, U.S.

Cinder Cone is a cinder cone volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park within the United States. It is located about 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Lassen Peak and provides an excellent view of Brokeoff Mountain, Lassen Peak, and Chaos Crags.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Jefferson (Oregon)</span> Stratovolcano in the Cascade Range, Oregon, US

Mount Jefferson is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. The second highest mountain in Oregon, it is situated within Linn County, Jefferson County, and Marion County and forms part of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Due to the ruggedness of its surroundings, the mountain is one of the hardest volcanoes to reach in the Cascades. It is also a popular tourist destination despite its remoteness, with recreational activities including hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and photography. Vegetation at Mount Jefferson is dominated by Douglas fir, silver fir, mountain hemlock, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and several cedar species. Carnivores, insectivores, bats, rodents, deer, birds, and various other species inhabit the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Mazama</span> Complex volcano in the Cascade Range

Mount Mazama is a complex volcano in the western U.S. state of Oregon, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. The volcano is in Klamath County, in the southern Cascades, 60 miles (97 km) north of the Oregon–California border. Its collapse, due to the eruption of magma emptying the underlying magma chamber, formed a caldera that holds Crater Lake. Mount Mazama originally had an elevation of 12,000 feet (3,700 m), but following its climactic eruption this was reduced to 8,157 feet (2,486 m). Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (592 m) deep, the deepest freshwater body in the U.S. and the second deepest in North America after Great Slave Lake in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicine Lake Volcano</span> Shield volcano in northeastern California, United States

Medicine Lake Volcano is a large shield volcano in northeastern California about 30 mi (50 km) northeast of Mount Shasta. The volcano is located in a zone of east–west crustal extension east of the main axis of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range. The 0.6 mi (1 km) thick shield is 22 mi (35 km) from east to west and 28 to 31 mi from north to south, and covers more than 770 sq mi (2,000 km2). The underlying rock has downwarped by 0.3 mi (0.5 km) under the center of the volcano. The volcano is primarily composed of basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows, and has a 4.3 by 7.5 mi caldera at the center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Tehama</span> Eroded Andesitic stratovolcano in Northern California

Mount Tehama is an eroded andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range in Northern California. Part of the Lassen volcanic area, its tallest remnant, Brokeoff Mountain, is itself the second highest peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park and connects to the park's highest point, Lassen Peak. Located on the border of Tehama County and Shasta County, Brokeoff's peak is the highest point in the former. The hikers that summit this mountain each year are treated to "exceptional" views of Lassen Peak, the Central Valley of California, and many of the park's other features. On clear days, Mount Shasta can also be seen in the distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lava dome</span> Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava

In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions on Earth form lava domes. The geochemistry of lava domes can vary from basalt to rhyolite although the majority are of intermediate composition The characteristic dome shape is attributed to high viscosity that prevents the lava from flowing very far. This high viscosity can be obtained in two ways: by high levels of silica in the magma, or by degassing of fluid magma. Since viscous basaltic and andesitic domes weather fast and easily break apart by further input of fluid lava, most of the preserved domes have high silica content and consist of rhyolite or dacite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pavlof</span> Active volcano in Alaska, United States

Mount Pavlof or Pavlof Volcano is a stratovolcano of the Aleutian Range on the Alaska Peninsula. It has been one of the most active volcanoes in the United States since 1980, with eruptions recorded in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986–1988, 1996–1997, 2007, 2013, twice in 2014, 2016, and again in 2021-2022. It is not currently erupting (as of October 15, 2024). The most common lava type here is basaltic andesite and the 2013-2014 lavas contained approximately 53 wt.% SiO2. The volcano is monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory- a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS). With a threat score of 95, the threat from future eruptions is considered to be high; much of this threat comes from the possibility of disruption of nearby air routes by large releases of ash. The mountain shares a name with the nearby Pavlof Sister, which is thought to have last erupted from 1762 to 1786, although this period of activity is sometimes attributed to Pavlof volcano instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lava lake</span> Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater

Lava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. The term is used to describe both lava lakes that are wholly or partly molten and those that are solidified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cascade Volcanoes</span> Chain of stratovolcanoes in western North America

The Cascade Volcanoes are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California, a distance of well over 700 miles (1,100 km). The arc formed due to subduction along the Cascadia subduction zone. Although taking its name from the Cascade Range, this term is a geologic grouping rather than a geographic one, and the Cascade Volcanoes extend north into the Coast Mountains, past the Fraser River which is the northward limit of the Cascade Range proper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erta Ale Range</span> Volcanic chain in Ethiopia

Erta Ale Range is the most important axial volcanic chain of the Afar Depression, Afar Region, Ethiopia. It consists mostly of shield volcanoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Types of volcanic eruptions</span>

Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has been observed. Some volcanoes may exhibit only one characteristic type of eruption during a period of activity, while others may display an entire sequence of types all in one eruptive series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erta Ale</span> Active basaltic shield volcano in Afar Region, Ethiopia

Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, which is itself part of the wider Afar Triangle. The volcano is located in the Danakil Depression, an area on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea that is below sea level. It is the most active of the volcanoes in Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Volcano (British Columbia)</span> Mountain in British Columbia, Canada

The Volcano, also known as Lava Fork volcano, is a small cinder cone in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located approximately 60 km (40 mi) northwest of the small community of Stewart near the head of Lava Fork. With a summit elevation of 1,656 m (5,433 ft) and a topographic prominence of 311 m (1,020 ft), it rises above the surrounding rugged landscape on a remote mountain ridge that represents the northern flank of a glaciated U-shaped valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kone (volcano)</span>

Kone is a volcano located in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. It is located on the Main Ethiopian Rift, which belongs to the most northern branch of the East African Rift Valley. Borchotto, the nearest town to Kone, is 5 kilometers away, and the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is situated 160 kilometers to the west. The nearest volcano is Mount Fentale located 30 kilometers to the northwest, with the Boseti Gudo Volcano further away to the southeast. Kone takes up an area of about 647.5 square kilometers and has an elevation of 1619 meters.

The following is a list of events predicted and scheduled to take place in the year 2025 in Ethiopia.

Starting late September 2024, central Ethiopia experienced a series of earthquakes, most of which were located in the Awash Fentale region, and mainly located between or around the volcanoes of Mount Fentale and Dofan, in Ethiopia's Awash National Park. The earthquakes were widely felt across much of central Ethiopia, with many of them causing localized but severe damage.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fentale". Global Volcanism Program . Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. "Topographic map of Mount Fentale". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  3. Briggs, Philip (2002). Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide (3rd ed.). Bradt: Chalfont St Peters. p. 335. ISBN   9781841621289.
  4. Buxton (1957). Travels in Ethiopia (2nd ed.). London: Benn. p. 131.
  5. "Ethiopia rocked by series of earthquakes in 24 hours". The EastAfrican. 2025-01-03. Retrieved 2025-01-05.