Mount Alayta

Mount Alayta
Elevation 1,501 m (4,925 ft)[1]
Listing List of volcanoes in Ethiopia
Location
Mount Alayta

Afar Depression, Afar Region, Ethiopia

Coordinates 12°53′N 40°34′E / 12.883°N 40.567°ECoordinates: 12°53′N 40°34′E / 12.883°N 40.567°E
Geology
Type Shield volcano
Last eruption 1915

Mount Alayta is a shield volcano in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afar Triangle (Afar Depression), a highly active volcanic region which includes the adjacent Mount Afdera, this volcano covers an area of 2700 square kilometers southwest of Lake Afrera. A chain of younger craters are aligned along a north-northwest axis in the basaltic-to-trachytic shield along the east side of the shield volcano, which extends to the western flank of Mount Afdera. The Alayta Lavafeld covered by fresh lava streams was formed from a series of north-south fissures. In two areas on the southern side of the volcanic complex, fumaroles can be observed.[1]

Two historical eruptions that were formerly attributed to Mount Afdera are believed to have originated from Alayta. One of those eruptions, between June and August 1907, produced a large lava flow from a vent on its southeastern flank. Its most recent eruption was in 1915.[1]

See also

References