Emi Koussi

Emi Koussi

Natron in the Era Kohor Crater at the summit of Emi Koussi
Highest point
Elevation 3,445 m (11,302 ft) [1]
Prominence 2,934 m (9,626 ft) [1]
Ranked 103rd
Isolation 2,001 kilometres (1,243 mi)
Listing Country high point
Ultra
Coordinates 19°47′37″N 18°33′7″E / 19.79361°N 18.55194°E / 19.79361; 18.55194Coordinates: 19°47′37″N 18°33′7″E / 19.79361°N 18.55194°E / 19.79361; 18.55194 
Geography
Emi Koussi
Location in Chad
Location Chad
Parent range Tibesti Mountains
Geology
Age of rock Holocene
Mountain type Pyroclastic shield
Last eruption unknown
Climbing
First ascent 1938
Easiest route Hike

Emi Koussi is a high pyroclastic shield volcano that lies at the southeast end of the Tibesti Mountains in the central Sahara of the northern Borkou Region of northern Chad. It is the highest mountain in Chad, and the highest in the Sahara. The volcano is one of several in the Tibesti Mountains, and reaches 3,445 metres (11,302 ft) in elevation, rising 2.3 km (1.4 mi) above the surrounding sandstone plains. The volcano is 60 by 80 km wide.[2]

Two nested calderas cap the volcano, the outer one being about 12 by 15 km in size. Within it on the southeast side is a smaller caldera, about 2–3 km wide and 350 m deep. Numerous lava domes, cinder cones, maars, and lava flows are found both within the calderas and along the outer flanks of the shield.[2] The inner caldera contains large natron deposits which see some harvesting for domestic animal salt lick use by the local people.

Emi Koussi has been studied as an analogue of the Martian volcano Elysium Mons. One of the most important morphological differences between volcanoes on Mars and Earth is the widespread furrowing of the surface due to flowing water on terrestrial volcanoes. The furrows are shallow valleys. Larger channels have a different origin. Major channels can be seen on volcanoes on both planets and indicate low points in caldera rims where lava spilled out of pre-collapse craters.[3]

It was climbed in September 1938 by Wilfred Thesiger and Idris Daud as recorded in the former's autobiography A Life of My Choice.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Africa Ultra-Prominences". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Emi Koussi". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Emi Koussi Volcano, Chad, North Africa". NASA Earth Observatory. December 8, 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Thesiger, Wilfred (1988). A Life of My Choice. Glasgow: Fontana Paperbacks. p. 285. ISBN 0-00-637267-8.

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.