News: Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano has erupted after 12,000 years and its ash cloud is moving towards western and northern India.
About Hayli Gubbi Volcano
- Location: It is located in the Rift Valley in Afar region of Ethiopia.
- It forms part of the Erta Ale volcanic range.
- It lies at the edge of the East African Rift, where the African and Arabian plates are slowly pulling apart (divergent boundary) in an intense geological activity zone.
- Type: It is a broad shield volcano formed by thin, fluid lava flows that usually erupt less explosively.
- Composition: It is built mainly from dark basaltic lavas but also contains more silica-rich rocks such as trachytes and rhyolites.
- Recent eruption: This volcano has erupted after almost 12,000 years.
- The eruption was classified as sub-plinian, producing an ash cloud that rose up to 45,000 feet (14 km), dispersing volcanic ash, sulfur dioxide, glass shards, and fine rock fragments.
