Emi Koussi Volcano

About Emi Koussi Volcano

• Location: Emi Koussi volcano is a pyroclastic shield volcano located in Northern Chad.
  • It’s located within the Tibesti Massif, a volcanic mountain range that straddles the border between Chad and Libya.
• Formation: The volcano was formed by low-viscosity lava, which flows easily, along with explosively erupted ignimbrites.
  • These materials created a low and broad volcanic structure covering about 60 × 80 km.
• Size: Its dome-shaped cone is up to 69 kilometers across.
  • It reaches 3,415 m above sea level, making it the highest summit in Africa’s Sahara region.
• Geological Features:
  • Compositions: The summit has three calderas formed by powerful eruptions.
    • Two older, overlapping calderas form a depression about 12 × 15 km, surrounded by a clear rim.
    • The youngest and smallest caldera, Era Kohor, was formed by volcanic activity within the past 2 million years.
    • The lowest part of Era Kohor is covered by a thick layer of bright-white salt that is up to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) across and several feet thick.
      • The salt deposit was formed when an ancient lake that once filled the Era Kohor caldera evaporated, leaving the salt behind.
    • Another important natron deposit is found about 240 km northwest of Emi Koussi in the volcanic caldera of Trou au Natron (Doon Orei).
  • The slopes of Emi Koussi contain numerous dry stream channels.
  • Numerous lava domes, cinder cones, maars, and lava flows occur both within the calderas and along the outer slopes of the shield volcano.
• Young volcanic features such as lava flows and scoria cones are also believed to be less than 2 million years old.
• It is classified as extinct, and there are no historical records of it erupting.