Emi Koussi Volcano

Emi Koussi Volcano Latest News

A 2024 astronaut photo captured an unusual salt patch shining like snow on top of northern Chad’s imposing Emi Koussi volcano, which is covered with ancient lava, hidden vents and shadowy waterways.

About Emi Koussi Volcano

• It is a large shield volcano located in the central Sahara in the north of the Republic of Chad. 
• It lies at the southeast end of the Tibesti Mountains. 
• At 3,415 meters above sea level, it is not only the highest mountain in Chad but also the highest in the Sahara. 
• Its crater is 19 kilometers wide and 1,219 meters deep. 
• 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. 
• Nested within the main caldera is a smaller crater that contains white salts of a dry lake at its lowest point. 
• The smaller crater is surrounded by a region of darker rocks—a geologically young dome of lava studded with several small circular volcanic vents. 
• The dark volcanic rocks of the volcano provide a sharp contrast to the underlying tan and light brown sandstone exposed to the west, south, and east. 
• Emi Koussi is extinct, and it is not known when it last erupted. 

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What is a Maar?

• A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma. 
• A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake.

News: LS