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Mount Meru

Meru

Stratovolcano · Tanzania · 4550m

Meru volcano (upper right), Africa's fourth highest mountain, is seen from the ice-covered summit plateau of neighboring Kilimanjaro volcano. The volcano is cut by a 5-km-wide breached caldera on the E side that formed about 7,800 years ago when the summit collapsed. A massive debris avalanche and lahar traveled to the east as far as the western flank of Kilimanjaro.
Meru volcano (upper right), Africa's fourth highest mountain, is seen from the ice-covered summit plateau of neighboring Kilimanjaro volcano. The volcano is cut by a 5-km-wide breached caldera on the E side that formed about 7,800 years ago when the summit collapsed. A massive debris avalanche and lahar traveled to the east as far as the western flank of Kilimanjaro. · Photo: Photo by Tom Jorstad, 1991 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Tanzania
Region
Eastern Africa Volcanic Regions / Kenyan Rift Volcanic Province
Elevation
4550m
Coordinates
-3.244, 36.750
Last eruption
1910
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Phonolite
Geological summary

Meru has a conical profile when viewed from the west, but there is a 4-km-wide collapse crater to the E. The summit collapse is associated with the early Holocene Momella event that resulted in debris avalanche and lahar deposits as far as the W flank of Kilimanjaro. Cones and lava domes are located on all sides; a maar field is present on the lower N flank. Activty from the Ash Cone, inside the open crater, was reported around 1878 and in 1910 CE. A second vent between it and the headwall produced lava flows that cover much of the caldera floor. Kisaka et al. (2021) identified three late Pleistocene explosive eruptions during 31-38 ka BP (cal 14C).

From Wikipedia

Mount Meru is a dormant stratovolcano located 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Kilimanjaro in southeast Arusha Region, Tanzania. At a height of 4,562.13 metres (14,968 ft), it is visible from Mount Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the eighth-highest mountain of Africa.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
5850 BCE~5591 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41651~1910 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 25850 BCE4039 BCE1970 BCE159 BCE1651

Detailed timeline

  1. 1910VEI 2Observed
    1910-10-26 – 1910-12-22
    Ash Cone
  2. 1886VEI 0Observed
    1886 – Ongoing
    Dome NW of Ash Cone
  3. 1878 (±1 yrs)VEI 2Observed
    1878 – Ongoing
    Dome NW of Ash Cone
  4. 5850 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 5850 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.