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North Island

Lake Turkana North Island

Tuff cone · Kenya · 490m

North Island in the north-central part of Lake Turkana is the northernmost and smallest of three volcanic islands in the lake. The two darker lava flows originated from a central tuff ring and formed lava deltas. The broad northern flow (left) originated from a vent on the flank and produced a 900-m-wide, lobate delta. The western flow (lower right) moved from the central vent through a breach in the western crater wall. Fumarolic activity occurs along the light-colored ridge at the top and along the SW coast.
North Island in the north-central part of Lake Turkana is the northernmost and smallest of three volcanic islands in the lake. The two darker lava flows originated from a central tuff ring and formed lava deltas. The broad northern flow (left) originated from a vent on the flank and produced a 900-m-wide, lobate delta. The western flow (lower right) moved from the central vent through a breach in the western crater wall. Fumarolic activity occurs along the light-colored ridge at the top and along the SW coast. · Photo: Photo by Martin Smith, 1993 (copyright British Geological Survey, NERC).
Type
Tuff cone
Country
Kenya
Region
Eastern Africa Volcanic Regions / Kenyan Rift Volcanic Province
Elevation
490m
Coordinates
4.063, 36.046
Last eruption
Unknown
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Minor (Basaltic)
Major rock type
Trachyandesite / Basaltic Trachyandesite
Geological summary

The 2-km-wide North Island in Lake Turkana is the northernmost and smallest of three volcanic islands in the lake. It is primarily composed of trachyandesitic-to-trachytic phreatomagmatic deposits from overlapping eroded tuff cones or tuff rings. The center of the island consists of a young tuff ring about 1 km in diameter nested inside an older tuff ring. Two fresh unvegetated lava flows that reach the lake shore from the central tuff ring form lava deltas on the N and W sides of the island; the northern delta is about 900 m wide. The two blocky lava flows are younger than a terrace that formed less than 10,000 years ago during the last major high-water level (Key and Watkins, 1988). Geothermal activity occurs along a curvilinear ridge on the S portion of the island and on wave-cut platforms and beaches on the SW shoreline.

Eruption history

Detailed timeline

No eruption records available.

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.