Fentale Volcano | John Seach

john

(Fantale)
Ethiopia

8.97 N, 39.93 E
summit elevation 2007 m
stratovolcano

Fentale volcano is located near the village of Matahara, 5 km north of Besek 'a hayk' Lake. It rises approximately 600m from the floor of the Rift Valley and the lavas of the volcano cover an oval area of approximately 100 sq km. An elliptical caldera, approximately 6 km in diameter, dominates the upper portion of the volcano. Fumaroles are present on caldera walls.

Fentale is a tourist destination in Awash National Park about 250 km from Addis Ababa. Fentale area is noted for the ignimbrite blisters which have been used for shelter by people and animals.

Further reading
Temtime, Tesfaye, et al. "Evidence for Active Rhyolitic dike Intrusion in the Northern Main Ethiopian Rift from the 2015 Fentale Seismic Swarm." Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 21.6 (2020): e2019GC008550.

Kidane, Tesfaye, et al. "Structural and geochronological implications of the Fentale Volcanics at a nascent passive margin of the Main Ethiopian Rift: Constraints from magnetostratigraphy study at the Kereyou Lodge, Ethiopia." Tectonophysics 495.3-4 (2010): 159-170.

Fentale Volcano Eruptions

A possible eruption in 1820 may have been nearby Sodore volcano.
1250 ± 20 yr.