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Butajira-Silti Volcano | John Seach
Butajira Crater Lake, (Arashatan)
Ethiopia
8.044 N, 38.352 E
summit elevation 2281 m
explosion crater (maar)
Butajira Crater Lake is located 140 km S of Addis Ababa, on the W margin of the rift valley, NW of Shala and Awasa volcanoes. A lava field is located close to the western escarpment just along the main faults which limit the Rift in the Butajira-Silti area.
Recent basalt lava of the Butajira-Silti area is formed by some horizontal or subhorizontal lava flows sometimes associated with layers of hyaloclastites. The
thickness of the basaltic formation is only few ten metres.
Butajira Crater Lake
The phreatic explosion crater is located in a recent basaltic lava field of the Butajira-Silti. The crater is located on the left of the main road Addis Ababa-Hosanna, between Butajira and Silti. It is a circular crater with a diameter of about 880 m. Is occupied by a small lake, whose surface is more than 50 m lower than the rim of the crater. The crater rises 125 m above the surrounding terrain. Large scattered blocks of recent basalt and of the underlying ignimbrites are visible up to 100 m from the crater. The crater is not related to a normal basaltic activity, but was produced by violent phreatic explosions.
Further reading
Hunt, J.A., Mather, T.A. and Pyle, D.M., 2020. Morphological comparison of distributed volcanic fields in the Main Ethiopian Rift using high-resolution digital elevation models. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 393, p.106732.
Di Paola, G.M., 1972. The Ethiopian Rift Valley (between 7 00′ and 8 40′ lat. north). Bulletin Volcanologique, 36(4), pp.517-560.
Butajira-Silti Volcano Eruptions
No recent eruptions.