Volcano Live
volcanolive.com
Asmara Volcano | John Seach
Ethiopia
11.244 N, 41.545 E
summit elevation 500 m
Pyroclastic cone
Asmara is a prominent pyroclastic cone 11 km SW of Dama Ali Volcano. The volcano is a guyot-like feature in the central Afar.
The cone is 300-400 high, with a diameter of 2.3 km at the base, and 1 km at the summit. The summit is nearly flat except for a gentle inclination from the edges toward the center, the center being about 25 m lower than the edges. The flanks of the volcano have a slope of about 35 degrees.
Asmara is composed of olivine rich, alkaline basaltic hyaloclastites, the product of explosive reaction of hot basaltic lava with water. There are occasional cobbles of basalt up to tens of cm in diameter embedded in the hyaloclastites.
Fragments of lava are up to a few millimeters in diameter and are well sorted in size within each layer. This contrasts with sub- aerial ash rings, in which pyroclastics are usually poorly sorted.
No coral or marine mollusks occur on its crest or flanks. Beds of lacustrine molluscs do occur on its lower slopes. It seems likely that the guyot formed in an extensive lake of which Lakes Abbe, Gamarri, Affambo and Bario are remnants.
Further reading
Varet, J., 1978. Geology of central and southern Afar:(Ethiopia and Djibouti Republic). Ed. du Centre nationale de la recherche scient..
Asmara Volcano Eruptions
No recent eruptions.